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“I have two sons, 16 and 12, and they are both special needs. My oldest is on the autism spectrum, and he also has ADHD and Generalized Anxiety Disorder. And my youngest one has ADHD. My oldest son was born with meconium aspiration, so he had severe lung damage. He couldn’t breathe for six months, and he was fed through a tube for a year and a half. I had to be a nurse to him as well as a mother, and that was extremely difficult because I just wanted to be a mom. I didn’t get to hold him for two weeks when he was born, so that was a very, very impactful thing for me.
It’s made me way more patient. I had to learn tons of patience and pray for that patience. One of the most difficult things is you deal with a lot of prejudice and people thinking your child is just misbehaving. They don’t understand that he’s overstimulated and needs a break, so I would shy away from taking them out to many places. I didn’t go to a lot of restaurants at all because that was just too much for him. I used to get a lot of dirty looks from people thinking “Oh, you’re a bad mom” or “He’s just a bad kid." Compassion should come first before judgement. You can’t go wrong if you’re compassionate first before judgmental.
I wish for them that they can be as independent as possible. I want to give them the best possible start so they can be functional in the world and not just dependent on people. Now I’m really excited because my oldest son is doing driver’s training. He has a lot of anxiety about it, but I’m helping him face his fears. It brings me a lot of joy because I see the light at the end of the tunnel.”
- Laura Ohanian, Scott Arts and Crafts Center recreation assistant
#HumansOfScottAFB is an ongoing photo series featuring the stories of people who work, live, and volunteer at Scott Air Force Base.
| Date Taken: | 06.26.2019 |
| Date Posted: | 09.16.2019 16:45 |
| Photo ID: | 5754424 |
| VIRIN: | 190626-F-VX890-1001 |
| Resolution: | 6561x4550 |
| Size: | 1.36 MB |
| Location: | SCOTT AIR FORCE BASE, IL, US |
| Web Views: | 65 |
| Downloads: | 4 |
This work, #HumansOfScottAFB: Laura Ohanian [Image 22 of 22], by SrA Tara Stetler, identified by DVIDS, must comply with the restrictions shown on https://www.dvidshub.net/about/copyright.
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