I am writing today about a topic that is very hard for me to write about -- my 68-year old sister, Gretta. She was 18 years old when I was born in 1959. She was number 3 out of 5 children, when I became number 6. Gretta is the first person I ever knew with special needs. (Please note that I am writing this based on my personal recollection almost 50 years later. The details are a bit difficult to remember.)
Gretta was born with what was then called mental retardation. To just look at her -- at 20, 30, 40 years of age -- you wouldn't know this about her. I thought she was beautiful. She had flawless skin, a beautiful smile, lovely dark brown hair with hints of auburn, a sweet personality, and the most infectious laugh of anyone I've ever known. Intellectually, Gretta never grew beyond the age of 4 or 5 years old. She attended a special education class at elementary school for a brief period but had to withdraw because she had seizures, which the teacher was not able to handle. Gretta did learn to print the alphabet, her name, and other simple words, as well as simple reading. Her speech was very easy to understand compared to some of her friends.
I was told that when I was just a baby, Gretta started trying to hurt me -- by biting and pinching me, and squeezing me too tight. This was when my parents made the tough decision to place her in a state school for the mentally retarded in Mexia, Texas. Gretta loved living there. She made friends with many others girls who were like her. She helped in the nursery with the "babies" (6-7 year-olds in diapers and cribs) who were placed in the school because their families could not care for them. And once, every couple of months, we would make the drive to Mexia and bring her home for a one or two-week visit.
A resource guide for ex-pats living in Abu Dhabi, who have children with special needs.
Welcome to Special Needs Abu Dhabi
Raising a child with special needs can be, in itself, quite challenging. Raising a child with special needs in a new country seems to add much more to that challenge. I started this blog shortly after my husband and I, and our two sons, moved to Abu Dhabi in the summer of 2009. We lived there for under 2 years and are now living back in the United States.
Our oldest son, AJ, has Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder and Sensory Processing Disorder. Finding the resources in Abu Dhabi to help him with his special needs was an ongoing effort. In the U.S., the public school system provides testing, accommodations, and an Individual Education Plan (IEP) for students with special needs, so we were spoiled there -- and dismayed at the seemingly apparent shortage of resources available to ex-patriot families (aka "ex-pats") in Abu Dhabi.
There are resources available in Abu Dhabi -- you just have to know where to look. Which is why I started this blog. My hope was to bring together in one place information to help parents of kids with special needs... so you will at least have a starting point. I also wanted this to be a place where we can reach out and support one another with advice and sometimes just a shoulder to lean on.
We have been back in the U.S. for about a year now, and I haven't written on the blog since the move -- until now. There have been a few parents who found the blog and wrote to me for advice -- and I have been happy to give it. I'm glad that it continues to serve its original purpose of helping ex-pat parents to find resources in Abu Dhabi to help their kids with special needs.
Recently, I have begun feeling the need to write again, but I've been unsure how to move ahead with the blog. In hindsight, I don't know if life is any less challenging in the U.S. than it was in Abu Dhabi. There are still daily struggles. I continue to advocate for my son who has ADHD -- to get him the help in school and in life that he needs in order to thrive, learn and grow. There have been steps forward and backward. I have felt hopeless and hopeful.
If you are in Abu Dhabi, or considering a move there, please leave a comment. If you know of resources that you've found helpful, let me know and I'll add them to the list. If you come across an article or book that has made a difference in your child's life, please share. Most of all, I hope you will share your stories. Wherever you are, it's good to know you're not alone.
Thanks for coming by.
For our kids,
Karen
