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Build a Village—and Let Them In

efryll2025-06-20T02:14:19+00:00June 20th, 2025|

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Welcome to Raising the Extraordinary. Our hope is you will find this website to be a safe place to navigate your journey as a parent of children with special needs, and help you realize you're not alone.

John, pictured here, has severe autism and is nonverbal, somewhat potty trained, and has major anger / aggression. We also deal with depression, anxiety, ADHD, celiac disease, and type I diabetes in our home. So I guess we have a somewhat unique perspective of parenting children with both "seen" and "unseen" disabilities.

We are not medical professionals, just fellow parents in the trenches embracing the life of raising extraordinary children.

~Sarah & Daniel

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  • Amanda says:

    I haven't had a break in 14 years! There's no one who…

  • Kidskastle Preschool says:

    This is such a heartfelt and inspiring message for special needs moms.…

  • Cidny says:

    Hi, I have had a full size wheelchair van since 2003 however…

  • sarah says:

    thank you for this post. I am really in the thick of…

  • Siva says:

    Your blog post beautifully captures the deep and often overlooked isolation experienced…

  • Daniel Bennion says:

    With a son who has very little concept of right & wrong,…

  • Daniel Bennion says:

    Thanks for sharing your story and being so open. It's incredible for…

  • Peggy says:

    What about a special needs with taking communion? How can they become…

  • Joanny says:

    I have an 18 year old son with C-ACC (complete agenesis of…

  • Barbara Kasprzak says:

    I am 61 years old and I have a 35 year old…

  • Mandee D. says:

    I cried as I read this... My daughter is 6 and has…

  • whoiscall says:

    Keep up the good work.

  • Debbie McMahan says:

    My name is Debbie McMahan. I am disabled. I have been diagnosed…

  • Not irrelevant says:

    There are many care giving fathers out there (I've met a bunch),…

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