I know of someone (who I won’t name because he still wants to shake the label) who was deemed "Learning Disabled" and packed away in a "special" class in school, where he was told if he was lucky he might be able to one day get a job digging ditches. He absolutely hated that idea and in spite of the label sought out a trade. He was encouraged and helped along the way by some teachers who saw opportunities rather than labels, and by his senior year in high school place first in his state in competitions for that trade. He went on to place fourth in the nation and subsequently represented the USA in an international skills Olympics which allowed the best and brightest in various trades from all nations to compete. He went on to become an electrician, then learned computer networking, fiber optics and even taught at a nearby vo-tech.

Part of what drove him was his desire to escape that label, but another key was the fact that  the original hurdle wasn’t really all that big, and once he jumped that, he’d learned to apply himself, and that in itself is a great strength.

I think the term "Special Needs" is different based on the area. When we were trying to adopt, we were surprised to find that simply being a minority made a child a "Special Needs" adoption, since it was harder to place them. In that context CAH would indeed make the child "Special Needs".

To all...

As I write this, in the next room, my kids are fighting. One will do something trivial, yet annoying. Another will respond with something even more annoying out of "righteous indignation", which will cause the first the respond in escalation. I’ll go get on to them, and they’ll settle down for a few minutes, then start the cycle all over again. I’m so glad we are adults and never do silly things like that, because it would make sharing ideas, support and encouragement so difficult, wouldn’t it.