Special Kids with Special Needs are God's Greatest Gift

Every little child has own uniqueness

His eyes are glowing like gems

His skin is like a smooth petal

His smile is like angel's face

Everywhere is a paradise

When Mother's heart sees

the joy

of her

C H I L D.

Clarence with his Papa Charlie (top-left) and Mama Mahlen (top-right)

Nine years ago, Clarence Jhoize was brought to life. It was the day when his parents felt the overwhelming joy of having a son of their own. He completes the Magos family with his two older sisters. He's a normal child at birth... He would cry when he's hungry or if it's time for a diaper change... But as he turned a month older until he reached his third, something was not right. He could hardly hold his head up, make no vowel noises and could not turn his head round to sound. He's not progressing at the same rate as a normal child his age.

Such signs of developmental delay brought distress to the family. He underwent some series of tests and he's diagnosed to have been suffering from "Global Developmental Delay" or is defined as any significant lag in any child's physical, cognitive, behavioral, emotional or social development as compared to normal ranges. He has "seizure disorder" that greatly affect the development of his brain cells. He's being treated and monitored by a specialist in a regular basis and because of this condition, his Mama Mahlen was compelled to give up her job to focus on him and Papa Charlie should work double-time as a ship's crew in order to sustain his needs and provide appropriate attention.

Clarence or "Talens" as we fondly call him is improving a lot. He's attending special classes at Accelerated Christian School. Special education is designed for children like him and it's helpful for them to do well in school. He can now write his name, able to run, skip and hop. Although he can hardly talk straight and utter words correctly, calling his Papa and Mama is such a rewarding feeling. He can count, color and can attend to own toilet needs. Now, he can understand simple commands and knows how to distinguish his things from others.

Gail with his Papa Ed (top-left) and Mama Arlene(top-right)

Gail Ancheta, who is 10 years old, is my niece to my cousin Arlene and she too suffers from almost the same condition but she can hardly walk without her back brace. According to Arlene, she taught Gail how to take a bath on her own and let her be independent when it comes to personal hygiene.

When I got pregnant with Kiko, I have had a lot of apprehensions. I was so afraid then that I might give birth to another baby with congenital defects or genetic abnormalities because of the similar occurrence of  this condition with the newest generation in our family.  But my worries were all gone now.

I will discuss about Gail's case on a separate post and how my cousin Arlene and her husband cope up with the challenge of having not only Gail but another child with slight developmental delay as well.


In this connection, I was moved by the story of a father who bravely face the greatest challenge of his life... taking care of his handicapped son and join him in his journey to prove to the world that despite the deformity, he will pursue his goals.

Witness the unconditional love of Dick Hoyt to his son, Rick with Cerebral Palsy.

"Appreciate life even if it's not perfect."

Rick Hoyt was diagnosed with cerebral palsy at birth after his umbilical cord became twisted around his neck, which caused the blockage of oxygen flow. As a result, his brain cannot send the correct messages to his muscles.  Many doctors encouraged the Hoyts to institutionalize Rick, informing them that he would be nothing more than a "vegetable."  

His parents held on to the fact that Rick’s eyes would follow them around the room, giving them hope that he would somehow be able to communicate someday. The Hoyts took Rick every week to Children’s Hospital in Boston, where they met a doctor who encouraged the Hoyts to treat Rick like any other child. Rick's mother Judy spent hours each day teaching Rick the alphabet with sandpaper letters and posting signs on every object in the house. In a short amount of time, Rick learned the alphabet.

At the age of 11, after some persistence from his parents, Rick was fitted with a computer that enabled him to communicate and it became clear that Rick was intelligent. With this communication device, Rick was also able to attend public school for the first time.

Rick went on to graduate from Boston University in 1993 with a degree in special education and later worked at Boston College in a computer lab helping to develop systems to aid in communication and other tasks for people with disabilities. (source)