Friendships are such an important part of a child’s life. I remember growing up and hanging out with my peers all the time. But what is the most memorable was hanging with my best friend. We would play sports together, go shopping, attend other people’s birthday parties, go to the movies, go swimming, and have sleepovers. We were inseparable.
As a mother, you want your child to have friends and be connected to their school and community. You want them to be invited to birthday parties, sleepovers, playdates etc. You want them to have a good friend. Having friends is challenging for typical children, let alone children who have special needs.
Being at recess at school, I witness a lot of children being unkind to others. They pick on others that can’t kick the ball, can’t run fast, or don’t understand the rules of a game. When I see kids not being kind, I take it to heart because I always wonder if this is how children treat Kayla at school. In the 4 years that Kayla has been at her school, she has never been invited to play with a classmate and has only been invited to 2 birthday parties.
While Kayla was in pre-school she became friends with a little girl. Although they go to different schools, they have remained friends for over 6 years. Kayla had been asking for a sleepover for months and her friend was willing to come over. I have never seen Kayla so excited. She had the entire evening planned; play with the babies, dinner, movie, and lots of snacks. The sleepover went amazingly well and Kayla had such a great time.
This little girl realizes that Kayla’s muscles don’t work as well as hers, she realizes that Kayla can’t ride a bike or swim very well, and she realizes that sometimes Kayla is a little quirky. She accepted Kayla’s differences, helped Kayla when needed, and was easy going with Kayla’s rigidness. In a world where many children have difficulty accepting differences and being kind, it brought me to tears to see the warmth and love that this girl shows Kayla. She is a true friend.