When You #ChooseKind, Don't Forget Invisible Disabilities
My son’s fifth grade class read R.J. Palacio’s book “Wonder” together and took a field trip to see the movie. First, how cool is it that Sam and his peers explored, discussed and experienced both the book and movie as a class? They will be entering middle school next year and will face many of the challenges of the characters in the movie. I am confident studying this book and film together will help them see things in a different way and encourage them to make the choice to treat people with kindness and compassion.
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Second, if you are going to go, bring an entire box of tissues. I literally started to ugly cry about five minutes into the movie and didn’t stop until the end. It is an emotional journey into the life of Auggie, a boy with a facial difference, as he enters middle school after being home-schooled by his mother his entire life. Through Auggie we meet his sister, who feels like an only child. We meet his mother, who has put her entire life on hold to care for and educate her son, and his father, who works hard and does his best to just laugh through life, and all of Auggie’s classmates who struggle to understand and relate to a peer who is different.
The movie explores why kids bully, how kids react to bullies and how parents and teachers can help and/or hinder the situation. While Auggie’s disability was clearly visible, mental illness can’t always be seen. It is often not visible, and when it is, it often gets called a “behavior problem” instead of a disability. Here is my challenge for the day: #ChooseKind to all. Get to know people before you pass judgment. Because just maybe the child you see throwing a tantrum in a store really can’t help it. Take a short moment to think of Auggie and “Wonder” and then #ChooseKind.
My name is Carrie and I am an advocate for children’s mental health issues. I am also a career driven professional who is passionate about philanthropy, arts & culture and community involvement. All of this takes a lot of time, energy, focus and determination! So why start a blog? Well, after a long year of hospital stays, many different health professionals, travel to see doctors, tears, fear and pain, I felt compelled to share my story and help others facing the same challenges. And just like that, Gracefully Crazy was born! Gracefully Crazy is me. I know some people might be put off by the word crazy. I get it. To me, it just describes what my daily life is like. If anything, it pays tribute to my own mental illness diagnosis of ADHD and depression. Also, I love the word and use it all the time! “Hey, that’s crazy cool or you are a crazy awesome person!” Crazy, right? Don’t worry, I own it. My goal is to help other mothers of mentally ill children survive and thrive in their crazy world. Sounds easy, right? It is, if you do it with GRACE. I continue to work very hard to advance in my professional career and be the best mother and wife possible. If you have a child with ANY special need, you know all of this can feel simply unobtainable. I don’t buy it! I believe if we keep talking, sharing stories and lifting each other up, we ALL have the potential to do it succeed.
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