Hi ,I’m Linda !

     My name is Linda James Bennett. I had a very normal pregnancy, and like many moms, I was ready for my first child. I was looking forward to counting their fingers and toes to determine that they were normal. When my son didn’t speak and was slow to reach his milestones, I began my search for answers. What is wrong with my child? The question moms ask all the time when their child isn’t progressing normally.

     My son did learn to speak when he was around 4 years old, but it was clear that he wasn’t developing as a normal child. No amount of therapy would help him to catch up with all the other kids his age. There have been many terms used over the years to categorize his disability, today it’s called intellectually disabled. I’ve found that the label used to categorize him doesn’t come close to describing how wonderful and capable he is.

   Today he’s 39 and we’ve learned many things about the world of the disabled and ourselves. I’ve compiled my life lessons in my book, Becoming a Seriously Happy Special Needs Mom, 21 Steps to Finding Your Happy Place, to pay it forward for other parents and caregivers. The life of the special needs family is challenging, difficult, hard, and heartbreaking. At the same time there is great joy and freedom when you understand the universal truths of life, that I outline in my book. This is the life we never dreamed of, never imagined we’d live, and wish we could change – but that isn’t possible.

   So, suck it up buttercup, accept what you can’t change, and embrace the life that you are living to be seriously happy every day. I wrote the book that I wish I had when I was younger. The quicker you get past, crawl over, fight your way through, or dig around your challenges the better off your life will be. You can find my book on Amazon. Buy it for yourself, friends, family, and professionals in your life, so that they may understand what goes on behind the scenes in a special needs family.