Katie Ireland: Mother of Special Needs Child. Yes, KMBC news, you are right I am a mother of a special needs child and I am honored to speak about our favorite charities and inclusive playgrounds on the news. And I am even more honored that I can show off my adorable loving 2 year old who happens to have special needs. But when I saw the clip my stomach dropped. Maybe it's because I'm only 2 years into this journey and I have never seen myself identified in that way by anyone except well me.Maybe I felt a bit indignant because that is not my only identity. But I get it, you can't possibly fit Katie Ireland: Wife, Friend, Daughter, Teacher, Mother of two beautiful children, one that happens to have special needs , all in one frame. I get that with what we were talking about that was my most important label to help get the message across.
And to the people at the KC Star, I know you did not mean to make me feel like my breakfast was coming back up when you printed that Charlotte was just diagnosed with a form of Cerebal Palsy. How could you have known that those words are still so new to us that they get caught in my throat? That we have spent two years thinking Charlotte had a muscle disease only to learn this week that it definitely originated in her brain, in MY womb, at some point in her development.
Charlotte's diagnosis explained:
Here's the deal. I am not ashamed of being a special needs mother, I am also not ashamed of having a daughter with CP. Actually, CP is preferable to many of the other diagnoses that have been discussed. And putting our names out there so that people realize that we are here and we are proud. We are 1 in every 4 families that have a family member with a special need. CP is the number one cause of disability in Children. CP, like most other diagnoses, has a very wide spectrum of how it presents. More than likely we all know someone with CP, I know quite a few these days, and they ALL have different symptoms and strengths.
Children with CP are like snowflakes, no two are exactly the same.
In fact according to Cerebalpalsy.org there are 4 different classifications for finding out what kind of CP a person has.
First, the severity, we have not been told the severity of Charlotte's condition as this is all new and really her main diagnosis is PVL (Periventricular Luekomalacia) which is loss or damage of white matter in the brain. But our Neurologist said it would be fair and truthful to classify it as CP, which is easier for people to understand. But I will say not all children born with PVL have CP and not all children with CP have PVL. At least that is my understanding so far.
ANYWAYS... If I were to gauge Lottie's CP, by the definitions they use on the website, I would say Charlotte is between moderate and severe. That being said I want to be clear that the brain is an amazing organ that had plasticity and can repair itself. So Charlotte may present as severe now but it two years, she may appear mild, or they could take away the CP diagnosis completely.
The next is topographical classification. Which means how much of the body is effected. And if the body is weakened (paresis) or paralized (plegic.) Sorry, if I am beginning to sound like a textbook, I'm just trying to help everyone understand what we are facing.
Again we have not been told the kind of CP, and on this classification I am not willing to speculate because I don't quite understand where she would fall. Her whole body is effected but she has had no breathing or swallowing difficulties.
Time for a picture to break up the information. She has learned to smile at the camera! Take that brain injury! 
Ok, back to the serious stuff...
The third classification is motor function and whether the child is spastic or non-spastic. Spastic CP being the most common form. Charlotte at this time is non-spastic. And we have been told many many times by doctors and therapist that there is nothing about her muscles or body that is spastic.
The last classification is muscle tone. And if you have been following our journey at all you know Charlotte is low tone (hypotonic) also the more rare presentation in Cerebal Palsy. Especially CP caused by PVL. According to research we have done on PVL, Charlotte should be spastic and high tone. But we can never expect anything to be status qua with Lottie.
The 100% completely original Lottie
70-80 percent of all CP cases are spastic. And from what we can tell Charlotte's CP is ataxic which does not include involuntary movements and only makes up 5 percent of the CP community.
So if you are still wondering why we are just now coming to an answer on what in the world has been causing Charlotte's symptoms: it makes sense that since she presents much more like a child with a muscle disease and doesn't present like 95 percent of people with brain injuries, that is the reason we have been following many different paths.
I suppose I could write an apology letter to all the muscle diseases I have blamed. But I won't because they still suck and there are still way to many children and adults out there living with them. Please research MD and SMA. They need awareness and of course money for finding cures.
I could also write a hate letter to brain injury and PVL but I will refrain because I know the brain is doing its best to repair itself. And we still don't know if PVL is the only cause for concern. We are still going through with the exome study and there may be additional diagnoses. I know, groan!
I will say this, DO NOT feel sorry for us. I will proudly claim special needs mom because that means I get to be Charlotte's mom. And she is incredible! If we think about how hard an average child's brain works just to develop, imagine Lottie's brain doing like, quadruple duty. She is forming pathways that didn't exist and we will be stimulating her brain as much as we can. More intense therapy... Charlotte would groan if she could read this. But she will rock it, she always does. Don't worry though, as much as it would be funny, I won't get a bumper sticker that says "my child's brain works harder than your child's brain." (Insert ackward laugh)
So KMBC and Kansas City Star, thank you! Thank you not only for bringing attention to a need this city has for parks for all abilities. (By the way, playing outside with friends is one of the best ways young children learn, look it up it's true!) But Thank You for helping me own a new part of our identity and pushing me towards the finish line of acceptance.
I will continue to have bad days, I know this, I know the stigma of brain damage and physical disabilities is real. I know that those pity smiles I got at Kohls the other day while pushing Lottie around in her wheelchair will still bother me. I also know that the lady that stopped to tell Charlotte that the sparkly wheels on her chair were awesome and that Charlotte was adorable will make me beam with pride!
So here I am Katie Ireland: Mother to a Child with Special Needs!
And she is pretty darn awesome! 
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