When our daughter Angela was born thirty years ago, we were pretty much in shock. The booklet about Cri-du-chat that we were given was outdated and severely lacking in hope. The diagnosis we were given was confusing and mind-boggling. I secretly wished for a disability that I knew something about. As we gathered our large family together to explain what little we knew about Angela and her disability, one of our young sons helped to set us on the course when he said “So, doesn’t she just needs love – we can do that – we’ll just love her that’s all.”
The learning part was where the 5P- Society played a huge part and helped to change our lives. Discovering others with the same disability was immeasurable. Attending our first convention was a blessing and an eye opener to greater hope, education, resources for health issues, research, creative ideas and understanding. This helped to give us a strong foundation for this new challenge that we needed. To be able to ask others dealing with the same challenges for advice, changed my life with a peace and comfort that was desperately needed. Our desires for our daughter were vastly changed because of new possibilities that we could see for her, rather than our limiting her progress.
The living part – the camaraderie and friendships that have developed through the society are priceless. The friends we have made are friends for life. Our children became even more supportive reaching out to help others with their challenges. Our eyes of understanding were increased. We have enjoyed the dances, outings, field trips and all the fun. Our family trips with the society to different locations have been wonderful experiences. Our children loved helping with the convention that we hosted in Utah and shared their love with the families. Their work on the convention developed many of their talents helping them love and understand the children even more.
The acceptance part – One of our daughters now has a special needs son who is 4 years old with Cornelia de Lange syndrome. Because of Angela’s disability, Joanne grew up learning about children with special challenges and regularly attended the conventions with us. Acceptance is a key factor that is shared through the 5P- Society. The 5P- Society has changed her life and the life of her family as well.
Being a part of the 5p- Society – Our lives were changed because of the hope, the help, the acceptance and the friendships that we have received over thirty years.
