Special Needs Quotes

Being deaf is not a weakness or it shouldn't be seen as one and that's what I wanted to get across that day. It's still what I want people to see. It's the same thing with the special needs kids. They are no different than I am, than anyone is really. Just because they might act in ways that 'normal' people don't or experience life in a different way, it doesn't make them wrong or less than anyone else. We're not weak or what's wrong with the world. ~ Melyssa Winchester

When you nurture and prioritize relationship for the volunteers, the volunteers become the ministry's greatest recruiting tools, because they tell others. ~ Amy Fenton Lee

[I hate] the ways that people want their special needs to be met, whether it's their food allergies or their special lotions or shoes. Or the ways that people want their neighborhoods and restaurants curated in a way that's really tailored to them. Growing up with someone who was living by these very strict, repressive rules for themselves - it made me very allergic to the idea of denial. ~ Carrie Brownstein

Parents of medically fragile children find themselves becoming experts in lots of different areas, including laws and regulations, research and treatments, and the various specialists that support the health of their children. ~ Charisse Montgomery

My children taught me the true meaning of unconditional love. ~ Yvonne Pierre

A great mind is just a great mind, and try not to worry too much about what package it's in. ~ Kristine Barnett

Chapter 11 is an expensive process that does not accommodate the special needs of farmers. ~ Tim Holden

Sometimes even the greatest joys bring challenge, and children with special needs inspire a very, very special love. ~ Sarah Palin

It's a scientific fact that there are only a handful of jobs you're allowed to have if you're one of the leads in a romantic comedy: dog walker, architect, kindergarten teacher, cupcake chef, florist, special needs veterinarian, suspiciously well-paid magazine writer, and independent bookstore owner. So it stands to reason that the likelihood of meeting your soul mate in one is high. ~ Una LaMarche

kids with special needs are kids. They may have unusual challenges in their lives, but they have the same needs as other children - to be part of the group, to have friends, to play, to feel successful. ~ Cynthia M. Stowe

Every technology really needs to be shipped with a special manual - not how to use it but why, when and for what. ~ Alan Kay

I know of other mothers who have children with disabilities,and right away they loved them and decided to fight for them.
That isn't my story. ~ Gillian Marchenko

It says in the brochure," said Arthur, pulling it out of his pocket and looking at it again, "that I can have a special prayer, individually tailored to me and my special needs."
- "Oh, all right," said the old man. "Here's a prayer for you. Got a pencil?"
- "Yes," said Arthur.
- "It goes like this. Let's see now: "Protect me from knowing what I don't need to know. Protect me from even knowing that there are things to know that I don't know. Protect me from knowing that I decided not to know about the things that I decided not to know about. Amen." That's it. It's what you pray silently inside yourself anyway, so you may as well have it out in the open."
- "Hmmm," said Arthur. "Well, thank you"
- "There's another prayer that goes with it that's very Important," continued the old man, "so you'd better jot this down, too, just in case. You can never be too sure. "Lord, lord, lord. Protect me from the consequences of the above prayer. Amen." And that's it. Most of the trouble people get into in life comes from missing out that last part. ~ Douglas Adams

But all I could think was in New York that kid would have been stuck in a straitjacket practically from birth and dangled over a tank full of Educational Consultants and Remedial Experts all snapping at his ankles for the next twenty years arguing about his Special Needs and getting paid plenty for it. ~ Meg Rosoff

For the rest of his life, he realized, he would be torn like this, aware of Phoebe's awkwardness, the difficulties she encountered in the world simply by being different, and ye propelled beyond all this by her direct and guileless love. By her love, yes, and, he realized ... by his own new and strangely uncomplicated love for her. ~ Kim Edwards

As a mom, you worry about protecting your kid. But there are extra added layers of fears when you're talking about a kid with autism or who has some special needs issue. ~ Holly Robinson Peete

If every child matters, every child has the right to a good start in life. If every child matters, every child has the right to be included. And that is so important for children with special needs. ~ Cherie Blair

Each child with special needs such as this does not come into the world in order to make our lives difficult and make us suffer. They each come into this world for a reason and have their secret inner voice. It remains to us to offer our love; to 'bear one another's burdens'; to experience a collective humbling - to realize, that is, that we are not as powerful and important as we think; and to try to lighten that person's burden and understand their language. These children are better at speaking the language of God. ~ Metropolitan Nikolaos Of Mesogaia

My parents, you see, were a little square. They cared more about being good parents in the general sense than being good parents for me. They wanted to appear normal; respectable and responsible. But they weren't prepared to acknowledge my individual needs. ~ Joss Sheldon

No one has ever seen the wind. We've only experienced the effects and the results of the wind. And none of us have ever seen God. Just like the movement of a pinwheel makes us sure that the wind exists, we have ways to be sure that God exists. ~ Amy Fenton Lee

I worked for a while as a teaching assistant while I was struggling. I really enjoyed it, working with kids with special needs, autism. It takes a hell of a lot of concentration, and you've got to focus on the child properly for seven hours a day. ~ Joseph Mawle

We might as well expect to grow trees from leaves as hope to build up a civilization or a manhood without taking into consideration our women and the home life made by them Let our girls feel that we expect something more of them than that they merely look pretty and appear well in society. Teach them that there is a race with special needs which they and only they can help; that the world needs and is already asking for their trained, efficient forces. ~ Anna Julia Cooper

For me the number one reason is that us people with autism love the greenness of nature.
... Our fondness for nature is, I think, a little bit different to everyone else's. I'm guessing that what touches you in nature is the beauty of the trees and the flowers and things. But to us people with special needs, nature is as important as our own lives. The reason is that when we look at nature, we receive a sort of permission to be alive in this world, and our entire bodies get recharged. However often, we're ignored and pushed away by other people, nature will always give us a good big hug, here inside our hearts.
The greenness of nature is the lives of plants and trees. Green is life. And that's the reason we love to go for walks. ~ Naoki Higashida

Families who lovingly accept the difficult trial of a child with special needs are greatly to be admired. They render the Church and society an invaluable witness of faithfulness to the gift of life. In these situations, the family can discover, together with the Christian community, new approaches, new ways of acting, a different way of understanding and identifying with others, by welcoming and caring for the mystery of the frailty of human life. People with disabilities are a gift for the family and an opportunity to grow in love, mutual aid and unity ... If the family, in the light of the faith, accepts the presence of persons with special needs, they will be able to recognize and ensure the quality and value of every human life, with its proper needs, rights and opportunities. ~ Pope Francis

When others focus on what your child cannot do, see it as an opportunity to focus on who God is and what he can do through you and your child. Sometimes inability is the vehicle for experiencing the blessing of God's powerful presence and provision. ~ Amy E. Mason

If you want me to rule out ever being Manchester United manager, I can't. Special clubs need special managers, so in theory it could work. ~ Jose Mourinho

Managing in-home nursing is not always easy. It can be terribly frustrating sometimes, and it can take a while to feel like everything is under control, but success is possible. ~ Charisse Montgomery

Among people who have autism and speech challenges, I think there will always be individuals whose "verbal blocks" come from the same place as mine. They too, I believe, can unlock language by referencing common points between memory scenes and the moment they're in. This might take a great deal of practice, but their family, helpers and teachers mustn't give up on them. The person with special needs will sense that resignation, lose their motivation and stop trying to speak. This can erode even their will to live. Believe me. Communication is the person, to a major degree. Please don't be the first to walk away. ~ Naoki Higashida

A world filled with temptations needs priests who are totally dedicated to their mission. Accordingly, they are asked in a very special way to open themselves fully to serving others as Christ did by embracing the gift of celibacy. ~ Pope Benedict XVI

A leader knows who is outside of the system and needs special help. ~ W. Edwards Deming

We were stereotyped the way many athletes with disabilities or illnesses are, particularly in participatory sports such as biking, running, and triathlon. After a while I could pretty much fill in the thought balloons over these people's heads. "Oh, look at these heroic young people, courageously struggling to get themselves across the finish line, in order to raise money for thier cause. How inspiring!" Don't get me wrong; while we appreciate the good wishes and realized that they were usually genuine, something in that attitude rankled me, and still does. We're athletes, dammit, and we want to be accorded the same respect as other competitors. That's how you treat somebody with illness or disability, in my opinion. Not as a special-needs person, but as a person. ~ Phil Southerland

Low-income people, racial or ethnic minorities, pregnant women, seniors, people with special needs, people in rural areas - they all have a much harder time accessing a dentist than other groups of Americans. ~ Bernie Sanders

Having a special-needs child didn't just change you; it transmuted you, transported you to a parallel world with an altered gravitational axis. ~ Angie Kim

To the families of special needs children all across this country I have a message for you: for years you have sought to make America a more welcoming place for your sons and daughters, and I pledge to you that if we're elected, you will have a friend, an advocate, in The White House. ~ Sarah Palin

The word 'special', as it is applied to disability, too often means 'a bit shit'. ~ Stella Young

Genius does not need a special language; it uses newly whatever tongue it finds. ~ Edmund Clarence Stedman

Children remind us to treasure the smallest of gifts, even in the most difficult of times. ~ Allen Klein

We do take pleasure in one thing that you probably won't be able to guess. Namely, making friends with nature ... nature is always there at hand to wrap us up, gently: glowing, swaying, bubbling, rustling.
Just by looking at nature, I feel as if I'm being swallowed up into it, and in that moment I get the sensation that my body's now a speck, a speck from long before I was born, a speck that is melting into nature herself. This sensation is so amazing that I forget that I'm a human being, and one with special needs to boot.
Nature calms me down when I'm furious, and laughs with me when I'm happy. You might think that it's not possible that nature could be a friend, not really. But human beings are part of the animal kingdom too, and perhaps us people with autism still have some left-over awareness of this, buried somewhere deep down. I'll always cherish that part of me that thinks of nature as a friend. ~ Naoki Higashida

(That saying about how God gives special needs children to special moms is crap. He gives special kids to moms who are already crazy themselves.) ~ Tami Lynn Tate

As I was wheeled into the operating room I pleaded with
God for one more day, one more week, one more month with her. ~ Ariana Carruth

But Luce takes the attitude, when you start fretting the day-by- day you lose track of the long view. And the long view is, they need to learn to speak for themselves and do the best they can. For now, if they bag their own lunch and it's pickles and prunes and they say the words, all you do is put both thumbs up and say, Good job. ~ Charles Frazier

When it is managed effectively, in-home nursing can become a support for caregivers and families stressed with the care of a medically fragile child. ~ Charisse Montgomery

The central struggle of parenthood is to let our hopes for our children ourweigh our fears ~ Ellen Goodman

I found real fulfillment through my children and through adopting special needs kids. ~ Mia Farrow

It's expensive to raise a child with special needs, which people don't even think about. Emotionally it can be a struggle, but financially it's really rough. ~ Elena Delle Donne

Parents impose their own limited concepts on their children, often ignoring their temperaments, special needs, and abilities. Your parents and teachers may have mistakenly ignored your strengths or may not have encouraged you to develop them. You can discover your basic capacities by experimenting with things that you always wanted to do. Don't be discouraged by notions that seem "silly" or "foolish" or "not you." Do it! Who knows what will happen? ~ Ari Kiev

people with autism must survive in an outside world where "special needs" is playground slang for "retarded, ~ Naoki Higashida

These essays were written at various times over a thirty-year period, to express special discoveries, to serve special needs. But they all echo the same truths of explosive self-revelation and continous astonishment at what your deep well contains if you just haul off and shout down it. ~ Ray Bradbury

All along I have the answer, it's written in my face, this is neither bad luck nor curse, but a show of God's grace. I may sometimes know why, I may sometimes feel doubt, but I'm not here to fit in, I was born to stand out. ~ Darius Andaya

Every learner has special needs. ~ Andy Hargreaves

Society was obsessed with invention, industrialization, incorporation, immigration, and, later, imperialism. It was indulgent of commercial speculation, social ostentation, and political prevarication but was indifferent to the special needs of immigrants and Indians and intolerant of African-Americans, labor unions, and political dissidents. ~ Sean Dennis Cashman

Ironically, Alfred Binet, one of the creators of the IQ test, intended the test to serve precisely the opposite function. In fact, he originally designed it (on commission from the French government) exclusively to identify children with special needs so they could get appropriate forms of schooling. He never intended it to identify degrees of intelligence or "mental worth." In fact, Binet noted that the scale he created "does not permit the measure of intelligence, because intellectual qualities are not superposable, and therefore cannot be measured as linear surfaces are measured." Nor did he ever intend it to suggest that a person could not become more intelligent over time. "Some recent thinkers," he said, "[have affirmed] that an individual's intelligence is a fixed quantity, a quantity that cannot be increased. We must protest and react against this brutal pessimism; we must try to demonstrate that it is founded on nothing. ~ Ken Robinson

Working with special needs children is hard. ~ Laura Linney

People can only understand their own pain. Even a genuine desire to help a person with a disability can become a burden or a discouragement for the person on the receiving end. It is important for helpers and therapists to ask themselves, If I was the person I'm helping … ? It would be useful also if they double-checked that the assistance they're offering is of real relevance to the person with special needs, and not about gratifying their own desire to care. ~ Naoki Higashida

People don't expect perfection, but they do appreciate when they see leaders who sincerely try to improve and ask for help in areas where they might be weak. You don't have to be good at everything to lead, but the best leaders are honest about where they need assistance, working to fill in those gaps, while also taking action and responsibility for areas of personal growth. ~ Amy Fenton Lee

to say that they have learning difficulties or that they have special needs. But this is stupid because everyone has learning difficulties because learning to speak French or understanding Relativity is difficult, and also everyone has special needs, like father who has to carry a little packet of artificial sweetening tablets around with him to put in his coffee to stop him getting fat, or Mrs peters who wears a beige-coloured hearing aid, or Siobhan who has glasses so thick that they give you a headache if you borrow them, and none of these people are Special Needs, even if they have special needs. ~ Mark Haddon

As I grew up, I became aware that there are people with special needs out there, and I have a real connection with them. ~ Elena Delle Donne

I left school with basically nothing, I was a special needs kid. I did feel as though my school had let me down. ~ Jamie Oliver

Embrace the unique way your child is blooming -- even if it's not in the garden you imagined. ~ Jenn Soehnlin

Education is supposed to help the child and parents: it mustn't end up being a kind of holding cell. For this reason, our education must not be overly defined by the views of outsiders, or be unquestioningly compliant with the values and beliefs of specialists. Of paramount importance is that the special needs education be a suitable fit for each and every student. ~ Naoki Higashida

With emotions ranging from fear, grief and anger to happiness and relief, the process of bringing home a child who needs in-home care can be complicated ~ Charisse Montgomery

A diagnosis . . . should not be used to close doors, but rather to open them wider, by making modifications in programs to accommodate special needs, by adding to the understanding that teachers, social workers, lawyers and judges have for affected individuals. ~ Bonnie Buxton

I don't think most people understand that when I wasn't running for president, I was working. Because I have to earn income. I have three kids in college. And three in school. And I have a little girl that has a lot of special needs. So I've got to work for a living. I was working already. ~ Rick Santorum

It is important that the church think outside the box, actively pursuing a relationship with the family, just as Jesus Christ pursues a relationship with each of us. ~ Amy Fenton Lee

Children with special needs inspire a special love. ~ Sarah Palin

Like all good citizens, the elderly and people with disabilities want to eradicate waste and fraud from government, but helping people with special needs meet their basic needs doesn't fit this description. ~ Joni Eareckson Tada

A lot of children don't find forever homes because they're on that special-needs list, even if it's because of something as simple as her mother smoked cigarettes for a month, not knowing she was pregnant. ~ Katherine Heigl

Thinking, as she had a thousand times: Special needs, she's like the others, gets more money for it. Followed by the question that bothered her: What's my special need? Bobby snorted and sputtered and coughed and Ramona rushed over and slapped his back softly until he stopped. Amber started to cry and Ramona said, "One moment, darling." Grace had wondered for a while about what made Bobby weak and have trouble breathing but knew better than to ask Ramona about something that wasn't her business. Instead, she snuck ~ Jonathan Kellerman

I got kicked out of my first home for poking a wire hanger into an electrical outlet. My foster mom caught me, shrieked, and called the DCFS to come cart me away, because I was clearly suicidal and no one had told her that I was a child with 'special needs.'"
"Were you? Suicidal?"
"I was five."
"Still."
"No, I wasn't trying to off myself. I was curious. Little kids spend half their waking hours being warned not to do things. Don't run with scissors. Don't lick a flagpole in winter. Don't stick anything into electrical outlets. Those three little holes looked so mysterious. I had to know if they were as dangerous as everyone said."
"What happened?" A smile curled the corner of Conn's mouth, indicating he'd already guessed the answer - which wasn't exactly hard, given that I was standing right there in front of him, and not buried in an early grave with the tombstone Here Lies Darcy Jones, electrocuted orphan. ~ Marie Rutkoski

You can't be sad when Daisy is around, she won't let you. ~ Maryam Faresh

Think of instinct as an unscientific, unquantifiable tool that can be used along with more concrete evaluations to make a well-rounded decision. ~ Charisse Montgomery

If your child comes home with a stable staff of nurses that remains stable for years without interruption, you might be a family of unicorns ~ Charisse Montgomery

People often romanticize children or adults with special needs, as if they are innocent-yet-wise creatures who can humble us all into becoming better humans. First of all, nobody can be innocent and wise at the same time. That's another one of those impossible combinations. It's as unachievable and improbable as Brenda. Or Carli. And secondly, I'm not suggesting the ladies of Camp Anchor were either one of those things in particular. But they owned their own flaws, and I am grateful I got to meet them when I was only fourteen. I left camp knowing a bunch of women who weren't afraid to claim the guy they wanted to dance with; they didn't change a thing for the men they loved. ~ Amy Schumer

The more love and support your child receives, the richer his or her life becomes, and nurses can certainly add to the circle of love surrounding your child. ~ Charisse Montgomery

That file full of letters meant I met with a Special Needs teacher in the hallway to get something called Individualized Attention, and let me tell you, working in the hallway with a teacher is like being the street person of a school. People pass you by, and they act like they don't see you, but three steps away they've got a whole story in their heads about why you're out there instead of in the nice cozy classroom where you belong, Stupid? Unlucky? Unloved? ~ Esme Raji Codell

Outside of school, though, we were often defined by our disabilities. We were "handicapped" - a bit like a species. Often when people have a disability, it's the disability that other people see rather than all the other abilities that coexist with their particular difficulty. It's why we talk about people being "disabled" rather than "having a disability." One of the reasons that people are branded by their disability is that the dominant conception of ability is so narrow. But the limitations of this conception affect everyone in education, not just those with "special needs." These days, anyone whose real strengths lie outside the restricted field of academic work can find being at school a dispiriting experience and emerge from it wondering if they have any significant aptitudes at all. ~ Ken Robinson

Prayer is, for me, like that - a state of being together with God. It's not usually triggered by liturgy or special needs. It's more like what the Bible instructs us to do: Pray without ceasing. ~ Bob Buford

It takes a special reader to experience a special book, and allow the inspiration, inevitable in the process, to move him to action. ~ Cameile Graham

I've been going through a lot of ... stuff. I need some space, which people were very kind enough to give me, and I feel really gracious about that. Nobody forces me to do things or say things or do interviews. ~ Bradford Cox

The inner journey is as individual as our thumbprint. We need to guide others on their way and never impose our way upon them. ~ Morton T. Kelsey

He needs to go rub his soul against life. ~ Barbara Kingsolver

The spirit of a country, if it is to be true to itself, needs continually to draw great breaths of inspiration from the simple realities of the country; from the smell of its soil, the pattern of its fields, the beauty of its scenery and from the men and women who dwell and toil in the rural areas ~ George Stapledon

The more we simplify our material needs the more we are free to think of other things. ~ Eleanor Roosevelt

When we think of failure; failure will be ours. If we remain undecided nothing will ever change. All we need to do is want to achieve something great and then simply to do it. Never think of failure, for what we think, will come about. ~ Maharishi Mahesh Yogi

I'll tell you what you need to be a great scientist. You don't have to be able understand very complicated things. It's just the opposite. You have to be able to see what looks like the most complicated thing in the world and, in a flash, find the underlying simplicity. That's what you need: a talent for simplicity. ~ Mitchell A. Wilson

Basically, I think 21st century conservation is moving toward preserving ecosystems by dealing with the needs of people. ~ Edward Norton

If somebody needs, like, a phone call every day or some kind of constant companionship, I'm not a really good friend for them. I can talk to my best friend every couple years and be really happy. ~ Patricia Arquette

Our society and our organizations have learned to value masculine, 'quick-fix' traits in leaders. In a primitive society, a rural society, or even the industrial society of the early 1990s, quick fixes worked out all right. But they are less likely to work in a complex society. We need to look at long-range outcomes now. Service and patience are what can keep things running effectively today and women can contribute a lot in both of these areas. ~ Estelle Ramey

Toraf nudges him from his thoughts. "You know whose advice I need?" He nods toward the gigantic house behind them. "Rachel's."
"Actually, you don't," Galen says, standing. He reaches a hand down to help his friend.
"Why's that?"
"Rachel's expertise lies more along the lines of communication. You won't need to worry about communication when Rayna finds out you're already mated."
"We're what?" They both turn to Rayna who has stopped mid-stride in the sand. The emotions on her face change from surprise to full-blown murderous rage.
"You're gonna pay a special price for that, minnow!" Toraf calls before he hits the water.
Galen grins as Rayna slices through the waves in blood-thirsty pursuit. Then he heads for the house to talk to Rachel. ~ Anna Banks

Why do you want to know?" she asked.

"No special reason. The Idiot guide to detectives says that you you are supposed to ask questions like that. ~ Saurbh Katyal

When a person acts without knowledge of what he thinks, feels, needs or wants, he does not yet have the option of choosing to act differently. ~ Clark Moustakas

When you look at nature, you see a hidden mystery that gives a special flavor to the photograph. ~ Abbas Kiarostami

I think sexy is a grown-up word to describes a person who's confident that she is already exactly who she was made to be. A sexy woman knows herself and she likes the way she looks, thinks & feels. She doesn't try to change to match anybody else. She's a good friend herself kind and patient. and she knows how to use her words to tell people she trusts about what's going on inside of her-her fears and anger, love, dreams the mistakes, and needs. When she's angry she expresses her anger in healthy ways. When she's joyful, she does the same thing. She doesn't hide her true self because she is not ashamed. She knows she's just human-exactly how God made her and that's good enough. She's brave enough to be honest and kind enough to except others when they're honest. When two people are sexy enough to be brave and kind with each other, that's love. Sexy is more about how you feel and how you look. Real sexy is letting your true self come out of hiding and find love in safe places. That kind of sexy is good, really good, because we all we want and need love more than anything else ~ Glennon Doyle Melton

I always like to meet the people I'm going to photograph. I need to have a conversation. I need to feel a vibe. I need to see what's going on in the person. I'm not just interested in physical beauty. I really need a personality. ~ Mario Sorrenti

There has been a seismic shift in the business world. The great classical business principles still hold true but they need to be fused with cutting edge internet technology. ~ Harvey MacKay

I love those historians that are either very simple or most excellent. Such as are between both (which is the most common fashion), it is they that spoil all; they will needs chew our meat for us and take upon them a law to judge, and by consequence to square and incline the story according to their fantasy. ~ Michel De Montaigne

[Into the Badlands] wasn't going to be two days of a splinter unit at the end of the shoot. The action and the martial arts had to be integral to the show. That's what makes it unique, that's what makes it special and different and ground-breaking. No one has attempted this before on American television. ~ Miles Millar

you dont need to be a perfect person to make them say your special. just be your self and there youll find your true sef. ~ Seanszkie

It is better to be alone then to be in a relationship, while you are trying to figure out what love means to you. ~ Shannon L. Alder

It was like his code of honour. Work that needs doing should be done. Work is its own reward. Never step back from work or you look bad. ~ James Rebanks