By Lorna Collier — 2017
People with physical disabilities fight hurtful stereotypes when looking for relationship partners
Read on www.apa.org
CLEAR ALL
My husband and I grope each other constantly. I don’t think a day goes by without at least one of us copping a feel. I say this proudly because after almost 20 years of being together, we are still hot for each other. And I don’t see any reason to hide this from our kids.
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Because I’m at ease with my disability and have grown to understand my limitations, it’s been easier for me to figure out solutions to what might be everyday obstacles to other people.
Fortunately, love isn’t a collection of capacities, of practical contributions. My love isn’t diminished by my ability to carry my son up the stairs, just as it isn’t diminished by the fact that I didn’t carry him inside my uterus.
But despite the challenges, kids raised by one or more disabled parents often benefit immensely from the experience.
More than a million children in America are the autism spectrum. What happens when they come of age?
How (and why) they find the time to parent and find a partner.
Parents often experience less closeness with the teenager than with the child.
Having a child is undeniably one of the greatest joys life brings, but it’s also an adjustment.
Meeting the emotional challenges of caring for children with mental health issues. Parenting is hard work, and parenting a child with mental health issues is exponentially harder.
Both parents and adult children often fail to recognize how profoundly the rules of family life have changed over the past half century.