It’s summer and all of the kids are home. As any stay-at-home mom would tell you, summertime is not easy on us. For families like mine, that goes a step further even—because you see, I have special needs children.

Special needs parenting is not the same. Our life is just so different from the normal family’s life.

Summertime is not a fun time filled with activities, playdates, family outings, and laughter, as it is for most. No, our days are filled with appointments, therapies, meltdowns, aggression, and moving constantly from one thing to the next all day long. 

There is no sitting down to enjoy a movie or a game as a family because my kids can’t sit and focus that long. 

There is no going for a walk to get out of the house because my children don’t understand danger and will elope.

There isn’t even cleaning the house because all of my time is spent managing whatever chaos the day throws at me. 

RELATED: The Struggle You Don’t See in a Special Needs Family

When your kids don’t let you sleep and your days are spent as a human punching bag it is physically and mentally draining. People will tell you, “Yeah, kids are hard, I get it,” but if you’ve never had special needs children then you really have no idea what it means when I say this is hard.

Special needs parenting is lonely and isolating and difficult. It is not for the faint of heart.

But despite all of the hardships, I love my children more than anything.

There is so much beauty to be found in the little wins and the small steps in progress. It teaches you to slow down and appreciate every little seemingly insignificant thing. And that is truly beautiful.

So you see, special needs parenting is not the same. And honestly, I’m grateful for that.