I originally posted this in 2011, I am reposting in honor for all those without a voice.

The short bus

I am the father of a special needs child, that rides a special needs bus, and goes to a special needs school.

The special needs bus is a bus filled with hope, filled with redesigned dreams. As a parent of a special needs child that bus represents life, it represents a struggle that encompasses every hour of every day.

The special needs bus is filled with kids that have faced and beaten odds that most people will never have to think about let alone face. Kids that were never supposed to make it, that had been counted out.

The parents that walk or wheel their kids to that bus are parents that have walked the darkest halls and been deep in the belly of hopelessness. I am inspired by the parents I’ve met that for decades have lived the life of a special needs parent. The lack of understanding, the countless looks and the stares.

The thing about being a parent of a special needs child is that it’s tough to keep your shoes clean, from the tears of pain, the tears of joy, the sanitizer that spills from the countless hospital rooms, and the dust that is kicked up while walking your son or daughter down to the special needs bus.