What To Say To The Parent Of A Child With A Disability

Gabrielle Kaplan-Meyer for The Jewish Week

[Previously in The Jewish Week], I discussed three surefire ways to shut down a conversation with the parent of a child who has a disability. Of course, talking about disability can be one of the trickiest, most awkward-moment-producing topics around. Differences raise fear and anxiety for all of us and that limits the chances for meaningful dialogue. But I hope that with increased disability awareness education, like my post of yesterday and this one, we can create more productive conversations. Try any one or all of these three topics!

Tell me about how this experience has changed you/transformed your spirituality/view of the world:

Most of the parents I’ve meet who are raising a child with special needs have incredible stories to tell. Our perspectives on humanity, on caring for the most vulnerable, have opened us to deep understandings and maybe even some wisdom. For the last five years, I have met monthly with a spiritual direction group made up of other parents who have a child with some kind of difference. We sit together and listen to each other’s stories and share about the moments of struggle, joy and feeling God’s presence with us that have happened over the last month. Asking to hear about my story and listening deeply would be an incredible gift to me.

Tell me about what supports you might need and how I could help.

Continue reading.