Being a special needs parent can be frustrating for a multitude of reasons. I bet if I asked random people, what they thought the hardest part of being a special needs parent was, there would be some pretty interesting answers.

In the almost 15 years I’ve been a special needs parent, I’ve fought many battles.

Some of those battles were school and IEP related. Some were insurance related. Let’s be honest, many of them were insurance related. Battles were fought just to get my kids to eat a meal or wear clothes.

There’s the stress, anxiety, meltdowns, overstimulation, communication challenges, loss of friends, a complete implosion of your social life and a lifetime without sleep.

I’ve faced off with each one of these challenges and more, on countless occasions, as I know many of you have as well.

If I’m, to be honest here and you already know that I’m going to be, these aren’t the toughest parts of being a special needs parent, at least for me. In fact, it’s quite ironic because what I struggle with, isn’t my kids themselves or their challenging behavior.

What I struggle with the most is getting the people around me to understand why I do things the way that I do. Why I’ve made the decisions I have and why there are often no simple solutions to anything in my or my children’s life.

I say this is one of the toughest parts for me because it’s a seemingly impossible task and for a good reason. I’m not sure it’s possible to comprehend the magnitude of challenges that a special needs parent faces on a daily basis unless you’re facing those same challenges as well.

It’s just not one of those things that can be easily understood or accurately expressed. Unfortunately, I haven’t figured out a way to effectively bridge this gap.

Until such a time, it will remain one of the most difficult parts of being a special needs parent for me.