To Those Who’ve Walked Ahead

“It costs nothing to learn from other people’s experience.” - Williamson Murray.

I’ve always been thankful for those ahead of me, parents of children just that bit older, carers who have knowledge I have yet to obtain, bloggers willing to share their pearls of wisdom.

Whenever the road ahead feels scary, slippery or unsteady I immediately look for these people, these groups, these organisations to guide me.

Those whose children started school the year or two before mine did who patiently explained the way to securing the right education to meet my children’s needs.

Those who told me who to contact to make sure transport was in place.

Those who know where you can self-refer, at what ages you start to qualify for things, and even websites to avoid.

Without these people looking out for those behind them I know I would have felt lost, alone and like I was fumbling in the dark.

Now years later I’m back to seeking out those ahead of me once again as my children age out of school and out into the world, a world where the expected next moves like college and employment is way beyond reach for my disabled children.

Where do they go?

How do we find providers?

How do we fund carers or day care services?

What benefits should we be applying for and when?

How do we prepare our children for such a huge transition?

Every single day I hear families being criticised for sharing their stories, explaining processes and talking about their lives with their disabled families. People are quick to judge, to condemn and to accuse.

But what people fail to think about is that families like mine need these stories, the knowledge, the guidance and the wisdom, as we come behind without a route map or anyone holding our hand. We don’t have the time to research or experiment as we are so busy caring 24/7. We can’t afford to mess things up when our children rely on us to get it right.

So to all those who have walked ahead, who are willing to share their experience and road maps so that others see more clearly and have some grasp of what the future holds….thank you.

I don’t know where I’d be without you!