Ce coiffeur est all au-del de ses Clients enfant ayant

des besoins spciaux

"\"\\\"\\\\\\\"\\\\\\\\n\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\"Jillian looked like my other babies; she was beautiful. She had sparkling
blue eyes, vibrant red hair like her siblings and fair pale skin, but all I could think and see was her
unconfirmed diagnosis of Down syndrome. I didnt want to see anyone or talk to anyone. I didnt want
anyone to know Jillian was born. I just wanted to close my eyes and open them to find things
different. That wasnt the case. Family and close friends came, and most didnt know anything was
wrong until they were told.\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\"\\\\\\\\n\\\\\\\\nThe Honest Body Project \\\\\\\\\\\\\\\/ Natalie
McCain\\\\\\\\n\\\\\\\\nimage\\\\\\\\n\\\\\\\\n\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\"I knew I loved her and wanted her but didnt know
how I was supposed to care for her. Leading up to her birth, I had all these hopes and dreams of the
'perfect' daughter. And at that moment, I was unable to see her perfection and feared the unknown.
I spent the next few hours trying to figure out how I was going to get through, when in came our
nurse, Kim. She spent a long time talking with me. The words she said that stand out most were,
'treat her like your other babies; she is more like them than she is different.' By the time she left the
room, I knew in my heart that I was going to make it through.\\\\\\\\n\\\\\\\\nThe Honest Body Project
\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\/ Natalie McCain\\\\\\\\n\\\\\\\\nimage\\\\\\\\n\\\\\\\\nAt six months old we started to realize
one of our daughters wasnt developing as she should. She wasnt moving very much and stayed
curled up in a ball like a newborn. She was diagnosed with hypotonia, which is low muscle tone. She
basically doesnt make muscle the same way we do and will always have a lower amount of muscle
compared to other people her age.\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\"\\\\\\\\n\\\\\\\\nThe Honest Body Project \\\\\\\\\\\\\\\/
Natalie McCain\\\\\\\\n\\\\\\\\nimage\\\\\\\\n\\\\\\\\n\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\"As she developed she encountered many
more hurdles with her physical limitation, but with the help of physical therapy was able to catch up
to her sister. She will never be an athlete but she can do most things other kids can do, sometimes
just a little differently.\\\\\\\\n\\\\\\\\nThe Honest Body Project \\\\\\\\\\\\\\\/ Natalie
McCain\\\\\\\\n\\\\\\\\nimage\\\\\\\\n\\\\\\\\nEven though her hypotonia makes her tire quickly when
running and jumping with other kids she never lets it stop her. I can see she is pushing it past the
point her muscles can take, but she never gives up or stops. This causes her chronic pain. The pain
she has is similar to the burning muscle pain you get when you work your muscles too hard. Most
nights she cries because it hurts so badly, and it kills me to see her in so much pain and not be able
to do anything about it. But she surprises me every day. Even after going through this every night, it
doesnt stop her from pushing it again the next day just to be in pain again.\\\\\\\\n\\\\\\\\nThe Honest
Body Project \\\\\\\\\\\\\\\/ Natalie McCain\\\\\\\\n\\\\\\\\nimage\\\\\\\\n\\\\\\\\nBethany has worked so hard
to get where she is today. She never gives up, and if something is hard or she cant do it, she still
gives it her best every time. If she cant do something she just says, 'Someday I will get it Mom.' She
inspires me every day. With everything we have been through, all the ups and downs, I still wouldnt
change it. Her autism, hypotonia and sensory processing disorder make her the wonderful,
intelligent, funny and loving person she is. Her disabilities are not bad things about her and I never
want her to feel that way. She wouldnt be the person she is without them and that person is
amazing. I love her so much and always want her to stay as strong and persistent as she is today.
She can do anything, and I hope she never listens to anyone who says she cant.\\\\\\\\n\\\\\\\\nThe
Honest Body Project \\\\\\\\\\\\\\\/ Natalie McCain\\\\\\\\n\\\\\\\\nimage\\\\\\\\n\\\\\\\\nMy children are
happy, funny, energetic and beautiful. All I ever wanted in life was to be a mother. Our children
were going to be well behaved and independent, no co-sleeping or picky eaters. Our son came along,
and everything we thought we knew was gone. We thought something was different about our son,
but the doctors kept telling us everything was fine.\\\\\\\\n\\\\\\\\nThe Honest Body Project \\\\\\\\\\\\\\\/
Natalie McCain\\\\\\\\n\\\\\\\\nimage\\\\\\\\n\\\\\\\\nAt three and a half our son was diagnosed with
ADHD and Autism Spectrum Disorder. He started therapy three to four days a week, and we settled
into our new life. Around the time our daughter turned four, she started having more behavioral

issues and was diagnosed with ADHD. At five years old, she wasdiagnosed with Autism Spectrum
Disorder, and at five and a half with PANDAS (Pediatric Autoimmune Neuropsychiatric Disorders
Associated with Streptococcal Infections).\\\\\\\\n\\\\\\\\nThe Honest Body Project \\\\\\\\\\\\\\\/ Natalie
McCain\\\\\\\\n\\\\\\\\nimage\\\\\\\\n\\\\\\\\nWith PANDAS our daughter can do well for a while, but
when she gets sick, or even exposed to certain things, she will start having severe behavioral issues
again. She will have increased anxiety, OCD, verbal tics, hyperactivity and rages.\\\\\\\\n\\\\\\\\nThe
Honest Body Project \\\\\\\\\\\\\\\/ Natalie McCain\\\\\\\\n\\\\\\\\nimage\\\\\\\\n\\\\\\\\nI worry about my
children all the time. I am confident they will grow up to be functioning members of society, but I
worry about how difficult the road getting there will be since they are different.\\\\\\\\n\\\\\\\\nThe
Honest Body Project \\\\\\\\\\\\\\\/ Natalie McCain\\\\\\\\n\\\\\\\\nimage\\\\\\\\n\\\\\\\\nMadelyn is a smart,
happy, hardworking, active little girl who enjoys swimming and gymnastics. She loves animals,
especially cats, and wants to be a veterinarian when she grows up. Nicholas is an energetic, happy,
and great with electronics. He loves playing on his iPad or computer and also enjoys tennis and
swimming. He wants to be a video game designer when he grows up.\\\\\\\\n\\\\\\\\nThe Honest Body
Project \\\\\\\\\\\\\\\/ Natalie McCain\\\\\\\\n\\\\\\\\nimage\\\\\\\\n\\\\\\\\nAround six months old my son
started having what appeared to be 'spasms.' Eventually, we received a diagnosis:Infantile Spasms,
caused by two strokes that occurred in utero. It felt like a bus hit me. At that moment I was in
complete shock. How could this have happenedh Why Tommyh Why this happy little baby who has
brought so much joy into our livesh Is there a cureh How do we fix thish What happens
nowh\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\"\\\\\\\\n\\\\\\\\nThe Honest Body Project \\\\\\\\\\\\\\\/ Natalie
McCain\\\\\\\\n\\\\\\\\nimage\\\\\\\\n\\\\\\\\n\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\"Tenmonths later, Tommy still has spasms. Hes
being treated with three different anti-epileptic medications. Surgery isnt an option because he has
two strokes and they can only disconnect one area of his brain. Hes in three different types of
therapy, and he sees his neurologist every other month.\\\\\\\\n\\\\\\\\nThe Honest Body Project
\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\/ Natalie McCain\\\\\\\\n\\\\\\\\nimage\\\\\\\\n\\\\\\\\nI hope my sons future is filled with love,
happiness, and good health. Despite his disability he is a very smiley, loving, and cuddly baby. Hes
very healthy, too. Hes always seen happiness and love around him and I want nothing more than for
him to always feel that.\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\"\\\\\\\\n\\\\\\\\nThe Honest Body Project \\\\\\\\\\\\\\\/ Natalie
McCain\\\\\\\\n\\\\\\\\nimage\\\\\\\\n\\\\\\\\nRegardless of whats happening with Tommy, he is our pride
and joy. Hell never stop smiling or laughing no matter what he goes through. Hes been through
more than I ever have and hes still fighting. He is the most precious miracle I have ever seen. If I
had the chance to change what happened to him, I wouldnt have. He has taught us so much more
than we couldve ever learned on our own or through someone else. Hes taught us to appreciate all
the little things because some people will never have them. He is my perfect angel and I will never
ever stop fighting for him and for a cure for Infantile Spasms.\\\\\\\\n\\\\\\\\nThe Honest Body Project
\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\/ Natalie McCain\\\\\\\\n\\\\\\\\nimage\\\\\\\\n\\\\\\\\nOur son has Right Hemiparesis (a type of
Cerebral Palsy) due to an in utero bilateral stroke. The older he gets, the more people are able to see
his developmental delays. We have been battered with questions from strangers regarding his
condition. At one point, I thought about lying about his age because I was so sick of peoples
inappropriate remarks when they noticed he wasnt doing age-appropriate things. The first year or so
of his life, I was not friendly when asked prying questions such as 'whats wrong with your babyh'
However, I realized the effect that will eventually have on my son. I realized that I hold the power to
build his self-esteem or crush it. I realized if my son sees me react in a negative way, he will more
than likely interpret that as if theres something wrong with him. And there is nothing wrong with my
son. Nothing.\\\\\\\\n\\\\\\\\nThe Honest Body Project \\\\\\\\\\\\\\\/ Natalie
McCain\\\\\\\\n\\\\\\\\nimage\\\\\\\\n\\\\\\\\n\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\"One of the hardest things for me parenting our
son was finding balance between being his therapist and being his mother. The same doctor that
lectured us about high divorce rates also lectured us about love being the most important thing we
could ever do for our son. I kept thinking 'duh, of course well love our son,' but what she meant was
not getting so wrapped up in his progress that we didnt take time to just be his parents. I lost sight
of her words, and got really wrapped up in research and therapy. I just desperately wanted to help

him. I did reach a breaking point and felt devastated when I finally realized I felt more like a
therapist than a mother. It was then that her words came rushing back to my mind. It helped me find
balance. It helped me accept his delayed timeline. When acceptance finally entered, is when I finally
began to feel like Casss mommy.\\\\\\\\n\\\\\\\\nThe Honest Body Project \\\\\\\\\\\\\\\/ Natalie
McCain\\\\\\\\n\\\\\\\\nimage\\\\\\\\n\\\\\\\\nThe questions about my son that I never mind are the
questions from other children. Please, dont silence your children when they ask about a child that
has special needs. Answer their questions honestly, or let the other parent answer. Dont pull your
child away or tell them that its not nice to ask. If we ever hope to raise a generation of more
compassionate and empathetic people, we need to start while they are young. Why not help
normalize differencesh If you pull your child away or silence them, you are creating more fear of the
unknown and therefore a bigger disparity between those children that are typically developing and
those that have special needs.\\\\\\\\n\\\\\\\\nThe Honest Body Project \\\\\\\\\\\\\\\/ Natalie
McCain\\\\\\\\n\\\\\\\\nimage\\\\\\\\n\\\\\\\\nMy son is not defined by his needs. He is not a 'special needs
child.' He is a child with special needs. He is defined by his heart, by his sweet demeanor, by his free
spirit, by his playfulness. His needs will always be secondary to the person he is. I view all children
as unique and having their own set of specific needs. I find it incredibly sad that people are defined
and categorized by their ability level. I want to fight the world for him. I know thats not a good plan,
but I will always be his biggest and best advocate.\\\\\\\\n\\\\\\\\nThe Honest Body Project \\\\\\\\\\\\\\\/
Natalie McCain\\\\\\\\n\\\\\\\\nimage\\\\\\\\n\\\\\\\\nWhen a parent has never experienced having a child
with special needs, I think they tend to feel sorry for those of us that do. I will tell you very clearly,
do not pity us. There is something magical about watching your child meet a milestone that many
thought he wouldnt. I promise you that we are all the same when it comes to loving our children. We
think our child is perfect. Our love for our child is immense and unbreakable. Yes, there is a period
of grief for the original dream of parenthood, but new and amazing dreams are hatched and lived. Its
quite extraordinary.\\\\\\\\n\\\\\\\\nThe Honest Body Project \\\\\\\\\\\\\\\/ Natalie
McCain\\\\\\\\n\\\\\\\\nimage\\\\\\\\n\\\\\\\\n\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\"When the call came that we had, in fact, screened
positive for Down syndrome the world crashed around us. My husband and I went through a long
grieving process for the son we thought we were having and moved toward the son we were going to
have.We cried a lot. We got mad. We got angry. We got jealous. I had a hard time watching other
pregnant moms walk around in a cloud of bliss and what I felt was ignorance. They had no idea
would 'could' happen. I did.\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\"\\\\\\\\n\\\\\\\\nThe Honest Body Project \\\\\\\\\\\\\\\/ Natalie
McCain\\\\\\\\n\\\\\\\\nimage\\\\\\\\n\\\\\\\\nAnd then the 'what ifs' moved in. The constant Googling of
what could happen. It never ended. It was overwhelming. How did we tell peopleh Hearing the 'Im
sorry' from friends and strangers. Sorry for whath Did you insert the extra chromosomeh Then the
'God never gives you more than you can handle' started. Really, God decided we deserved thish
Followed by the 'Maybe the doctors are wrong.' OK, two tests and multiple ultrasounds later, we are
not holding our breath that we got the wrong information.\\\\\\\\n\\\\\\\\nThe Honest Body Project
\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\/ Natalie McCain\\\\\\\\n\\\\\\\\nimage\\\\\\\\n\\\\\\\\nAs we continued through our pregnancy,
we decided it was time to announce our son through social media. We named our son Eli and
announced how he is 'extra special' to the world. We could finally breathe easier and were able to
accept the diagnosis after the announcement. In the meantime, I joined multiple support sites where
everyone shared the same fears I had. The same stories. And then I realized it was going to be
OK.\\\\\\\\n\\\\\\\\nThe Honest Body Project \\\\\\\\\\\\\\\/ Natalie
McCain\\\\\\\\n\\\\\\\\nimage\\\\\\\\n\\\\\\\\nHe was a superstar from the get-go and we were completely
in love. I didnt -- and I still dont -- see Down syndrome when I look at my son. I see Eli. I see a happy,
loving baby and soon to be one-year-old. Weve been so lucky. Sometimes I look at Eli and smile as
big as he does. Sometimes I look at him and Im filled with sadness that his life will be 'different' and
'difficult.' But Eli has brought so many smiles to everyone that meets him. He is exactly what our
family needed, a bright spot to the beginning and end of our day.\\\\\\\\n\\\\\\\\nThe Honest Body
Project \\\\\\\\\\\\\\\/ Natalie McCain\\\\\\\\n\\\\\\\\nimage\\\\\\\\n\\\\\\\\nMy four year old, Leo, is too
young to understand that Eli is 'different,' so we havent even mentioned it. We will when the time

comes. I remember Leo seeing a child in a wheelchair and asking about him. It was the first time we
were able to start to talk about differences. And I certainly didnt shy away from talking about it. It
was a chance to start paving the way for the day we start to have those conversations about his
brother. Eli may be only 11-months-old but he has already given so many people joy. He is our 'Zen'
baby. When I bring him to work he is loved by all and helps bring the blood pressure and stress
levels down of everyone in the office.\\\\\\\\n\\\\\\\\nThe Honest Body Project \\\\\\\\\\\\\\\/ Natalie
McCain\\\\\\\\n\\\\\\\\nimage\\\\\\\\n\\\\\\\"\\\"\"