So Long, Social Media…It’s Been (Too) Real
Why parents of kids with special needs take social media vacations
’Tis the season! Prom, graduations, college commitments. This is the time of year when all social media is celebrating the many accomplishments and milestones of our kids. But just on the other side of the feed are a group of us who are silently suffering through each joyous post. We are tucked away in private Facebook groups, hidden from view from the rest of the cyber world, consoling and supporting one another as we navigate a different childhood — one that often misses out on the major milestones of youth.
Every year around this time, our secret group pages inevitably become filled with messages of farewell from parents who cannot bear the daily reminders of all our kids are missing out on and the crushing realization of how things “should” or were “supposed” to be. For this reason, many parents decide to take a break from social media for the sake of self preservation, unable to contain the mixture of emotions felt seeing a feed filled with joyous celebrations we may never experience.
We are the parents who, instead of celebrating graduations and dances, are celebrating getting through a day without a major “episode,” or a phone call from the school, or finally getting services approved through an IEP or…
