Love Thy Neighbor as Thyself

by Chantai Snellgrove Print This Article

Mother gently kissing the nose of her young daughter.

Where did this year go? I remember, what seems like just yesterday, sitting down to write what I was thankful for and how I have been Blessed through the year…..and here I am doing it again. No sooner did I put down the Halloween decorations and everyone is starting to put up Thanksgiving and Christmas decorations. The malls are wasting no time in trying to get ready for this years Holiday Season and here in Florida it is still hitting 90 degrees during the day……….just doesn’t add up for me yet! But, it did get me to thinking about a few things.

The Holidays are a time for family, a time for (hopefully) reflecting on the past year, and a time for giving: giving of thanks, giving of time, giving of talent, giving of treasure, and giving of good cheer. So it made me think that we are all interconnected through that process……the ads on TV reinforce that sentiment, the houses of worship reinforce that message, and even the malls spread the common thread thought that we all are to be doing the same things over the Holidays. So, I thought for a second “that we all kind of live on the same DNA street, so to speak.”

As I was putting together this issue, it occurred to me, as I read the article on What is Pierre Robin Sequence?, it states that it is closely related to VCFS. Our daughter has a “clinical diagnosis” of VCFS. Then, as I read the submission articles on Apraxia and “Is it Dyslexia, no it is Dyspraxia”, I realized that she had similarities to that as well. So, as I try to tie this all in to the magazine, I thought that we, as a Special Needs Community, can not simply think of it as just our particular syndrome. We have to realize that through all of this, we all share certain “overlaps” with many others within this community. We are all, kind of, related as well.

Blue figures connected by lines representing a network of special needs families.

Communities for Special Needs Families

In this issue, we have put together a wonderful “Gift guide” for all of you to take a look at. There is also a “Toy guide” section filled with great toy ideas from Ableplay. The gift guide selections are budget friendly in the $50 and under price range. Be sure to check it out. We also hope that when reading the informative articles in this issue, that you, too, might learn from them in the same way that I did.

In closing, I want to wish each of you a very wonderful, loving, and Blessed Holiday Season. May the New Year bring you new hope, direction, help, joy and love.

COVER CREDIT: A Special thank you to Amber Blewett for our Cover Photo. Photographer from Don’t Forget Me Photos.

FREE DOWNLOAD: PSN Holiday Tip Guide

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Love Thy Neighbor as Thyself

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