Mary Ellen Barrett
Mary Ellen Barrett is a home educating mother of seven children. She writes a column for The Long Island Catholic called “Our Domestic Church” and speaks at conferences about homeschooling and raising a special needs child.
Mary Ellen writes about the daily life and happenings in her Catholic home on her weblog, Tales from the Bonny Blue House and about a Catholic celebration of Christmas at O Night Divine.
She is a frequent contributor to Catholic Exchange and is currently at work on a book about life as a mom of a large family and an Advent Book of Days.
Scheduled Talk:
Tending the Wildflowers in Your Garden: Cultivating Love and Acceptance for Your Special Needs Child.
On December 16, 1998 I became something I never expected to be. I became the mother of a disabled child. From the beginning it was just necessary to surrender this parenting a “special child” to God. He made this leap of faith in trusting us with this extraordinary child and we had to believe that the Almighty had a plan and that we needed His help to accomplish it.
In spite of what the culture of death will tell you, children born into this world with physical, neurological and emotional challenges have a distinct and important purpose, they are part of our means to salvation and they enhance our society.
With the rising numbers of autism, Down’s Syndrome and other disabilities, regardless of having a special needs child in your family you and your children are going to encounter someone who is “out of sync” with societal norms. Perhaps in your homeschool group, your church, the soccer team or CYO league. How will you embrace this gift of God and make this child a step on your path to heaven?
