As a special needs parent, letting go sounds strange. A child with learning differences needs a parent for so many things. He needs that parent to help him in more ways than his siblings or classmates. He requires this kind of support for a lot longer than others. So how does letting go look with a child diagnosed with a disability?
Letting go is allowing a child to do things on his own as much as possible. I only can share what that has meant in my life as a mom. I remember sending my son to summer Bible camp. I wrote a book (that's a little exaggerated) for the camp personnel. I went early to drop him off to meet with counselors and nursing staff. I talked to the nurses several times that first week. It would of been easier to go and stay at the camp for the week. It did not go beautifully that first summer. It was only for five days but it was hard for everyone involved. The second summer and all those after went much better. It was important to leave him at camp that first summer. It was part of letting go as the hovering protective mother that I was in those days.
Recently, my son went away to college. He is 22 and receives some extra supports to manage this transition. He attended a community college part-time for three years and lived at home. He went off to college later than his high school friends but I know that many little steps along the way over many years enabled this to happen. Letting go was something I needed to do in steps over a lot of years. My son had to let go of the comfort he finds in being at home. He has taken smaller steps over the last several years to let go and take new steps.
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