Happy St. Patrick’s Day!  Being 100% Irish, St. Patrick’s Day was always a special occasion in my family.

But being “special” is not always so easy.  I get many questions from parents of kids with special needs: ADHD, Aspergers Syndrome, etc.  These parents feel like they get a double whammy. Not only do they have the challenge of parenting a special needs child, but they often feel like a “bad parent” because the usual strategies that work for others don’t work for them and all the good advice in the world doesn’t change that.

This is why I wrote a chapter in my No book (Chapter 10 – “Wired Differently: Special Needs Children and No”) on using No with special needs kids.  Parents report to me that they are encouraged, and even relieved, after reading this chapter because they learn the unique strategies needed for special needs children.   These parents need a lot of patience and humor, love and energy, support and follow-through to meet their day by day challenges.  But with this, kids will learn the how to self-regulate their emotions and behavior to the degree they are able.

And as a community, we need to support these parents, not blame them.