{"id":177791,"date":"2024-02-14T14:52:51","date_gmt":"2024-02-14T19:52:51","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.bestbuddies.org\/?p=177791"},"modified":"2024-03-05T14:21:13","modified_gmt":"2024-03-05T19:21:13","slug":"a-parents-story","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.bestbuddies.org\/family-support\/a-parents-story\/","title":{"rendered":"A Parent\u2019s Story"},"content":{"rendered":"
Finding other parents of kids who had Down syndrome suddenly put things into perspective for us.
\nWe looked to parents with older kids to see how their kids were growing, what we could expect as new parents ourselves, and, most of all, for encouragement.<\/p>\n
We wanted the reassurance of someone who had \u2018been there, done that,\u2019 even if our experiences weren\u2019t exactly the same, and we wanted to relate to other parents who understood where we were, without much explanation or need for words.<\/p>\n
Gelli gave us membership to a special kind of club. She opened up our world to people whom we never would have met, and because of her, we found parents of kids just like her, which was comforting, reassuring, and safe.<\/p>\n
Gelli\u2019s arrival has brought many positive adventures into our lives. I now lead Best Buddies Philippines<\/a> and am happy to be part of an organization that continues to support and empower the IDD community throughout different life stages.[\/vc_column_text]