Yes, friendships are more difficult now. It is hard to know if others are not our friends because of our situation or not. We just moved to a new area and I have found that others often don't know how to befriend us. I was called to work with the youth in our church and was told it would be "good" for them because they were not sure how to handle my son with Cerebral Palsy. Huh? Yeah, that hurt. Anyone else have better experiences or have good wisdom on how to make friends? I love having friends and am very social (love having parties at my house, etc.) so I just keep trying but I will say it has become a lot harder because people are not as comfortable around my son.

Well unfortunately I've had some not so great experiences in the friend department over the last two years! For the most part people have seemed uncomfortable at best! Or unapproachable? Maybe they were'nt sure what to say or how to say it??? Or have little to no understanding about Rows condition and the resulting limitations??? Expecting us to be able to do a lot of things that we just cannot do with Row! And I KNOW I'm guilty of pushing people away...I'm getting better but for the longest time it was very difficult for me to spend time with my friends who had typical babies! Which made me feel horrible! But to me they were a constant reminder of what Rowan was not able to do! On a more possotive note...some other friends were able to open up to me about situations they had been quietly dealing with...in some cases for years! I guess maybe befor Rowan came along I was one of the "unapproachables"! lol

I am a 21yr old mother of a special needs child! All of my friends are at different places in there lives than myself! I cant really say that I have any true friends since Braydon was born! I have given up everything for him and try to do the best for him possible! A few of my "old" friends are having children now that are healthy and seems as though I resent them for what they have! As a single parent of a special needs child I find it extremely hard to date or involve my son in any type of relationship for fear of what they have to say or how they may feel uncomfortable! I have become a very bitter person! I am comfortable with having no friends and not dating but i have also developed trust issues involving my son! I am scared to let anyone be a part of his life,including family members! I don know if these are normal feelings, but i dont want them to affect my son in any way!

I'm glad I'm not the only one who is having a hard with friends and trust since having a special needs child.I'm going through a divorce and it is just me and my kids.Brady is my main responsibility right now.Making sure his needs are met is what is important.I no longer have friends and I don't really associate with people who have kids.It's hard but I've learned to deal with it.I have also given up on the thought of finding a relationship.I don't want to bring someone in my life because I'm not sure how they would react to my son and I don't want anyone around him that is negative.

My friendships haven't really changed but I have come to realize just how much people who have "normal" children don't understand everything we deal with. My friends are concerned for my son and ask about him and want to know details about his condition but once I try to explain things, you can tell I'm out in left field. They have been very supportive but they have no clue what it takes to raise a child with a disability. And I'm with you guys on having sort of a resentment for my friends children. I go through those phases. But I also look at what life lessons he has tought me that my friends really haven't learned....like not taking things for granted. I've heard my friends say a millions times, "I wish my kids would just sit down and be quiet!" They don't realize how bad I wish my son could do those things!

Natalie, I know exactly how you feel. I'm twent four and single. For a long time my friends did not have children and they stopped speaking to me because Audrey became my life. Everything was about her, school five days a week, therapy four days out of the week. Now that they have children alot of them are slowly coming back around , but when they tell me of all the milestones their children meet and how excited they are, it's hard to be happy for them. All I want is to do is weep, because my own child has not met them and may not ever. I am also recently single and having problems telling men about my daughter. I feel the need to tell them early about her disability , it almost feels like a "lets just hurry and get this over with " moment. I guess I am just trying to test their worth and character ?
I have problems leaving Audrey with people too, even family members. I think that i'm just afraid that something bad may happen and they won't tell me , and she has no way of communicating it to me. I really have trust issues.

I just wish people would ask questions and take an interest! Please don't ignore Aiden. I am shocked that I have not had more questions from family. They seem pretty ok with the whole thing, but I am sure they are curious. I wish that they would interact with him. He is such a sweet boy with a great smile! He is not scary, you won't brake him! I get the feeling that people are hesitant to babysit...but they won't tell me. I don't know why it is so taboo to ask questions? I can't say that I have really lost any friendships, but I sure wish I could find friends that have children with special needs. I would like to form a play group.