I’m just putting it out there - this is my very first blog! EVER! So BE KIND! Please! I don’t know what I am doing and I don’t know what to expect but hey! I’ll give it a try. The title of my blog today is Be Kind and I guess this is a metaphor for so many things to be kind about. Be kind to yourself, be kind to others, and generally just be kind.
A few days ago, I had a surprise visit from a friend of mine and I was actually busy reading a research article for my master’s project. Anyway, the gist of that paper was about the global shortage of speech therapists. The paper said (I’ll put the reference at the end just in case you guys want to read it) that in sub-Saharan Africa the ratio is 1 speech therapist per 2-4 million people and for US, UK, Australia, and Canada, the ratio is 1 speech therapist per 2500-4700 people. So this is a serious problem! Of course, my friend was shocked! She asked me how I felt about people just giving up on their child with a disability or not doing anything about it. I said, sometimes parents do not know what to do or how to cope with their child. Sometimes it is just too difficult for them.
As a young person (which was decades ago - can’t count, too many decades ago), I was quick to judge. Now that I am older, taking on so many roles in one go - first and foremost a mother to all my children (including fur babies), then a mother to a special needs child, then a wife, then a speech therapist, teacher, cook, dog walker, cleaner, driver, gardener … and so many more, I learned just to be kind. To be kind not to judge that other parents have a hard time coping with their child. To be kind not to judge that other parents make a difficult and painful choice of giving up their child with special needs to the care of someone or even an organization. I told my friend, we don’t really know what those parents are going through. They might have an enormous baggage that they are carrying and unable to take more. And the choice to give up a child to be cared by another is what is best for the child, for the sanity of that parent, for the harmony in the family, for a life for them and the child. I think kindness might lighten a parent’s burden. I think if parents knew that they aren’t being judged, their burden may no longer be.
Okay before I sign off, please do not get me wrong! I am not an angel! Everyday, I try my best to be kind and it is not easy! It takes a lot of effort and practice. Like speech therapy, it takes time and lots of practice to achieve your goal. Little doses of practising kindness makes you a tad more kind each day.
Here’s the reference to the article I mentioned earlier:
