Special Needs Parenting: Life Isn’t Always Fabuloso with David & Andrea Carothers
Raising a special needs child is a mixed bag of emotions. This week Erik Garcia, CFP®, and Dr. Matt Morris, LPC, LMFT sit down with David and Andrea Carothers as they share the joys and struggles of raising their special son. Whether you have a special needs child or not, you DO NOT want to miss this episode.
Episode Highlights:
- Andrea and David introduce themselves. (1:53)
- Andrea shares how the pandemic affected her. (2:59)
- Andrea gives a background about their son, Ethan. (7:09)
- David the difficulties of not having control. (8:56)
- How did Ethan’s special needs affect their family? (15:55)
- David gives a piece of advice to the parents that have multiple kids in a household, with a special needs child. (21:19)
- Andrea gives us some context on Ethan’s capabilities. (23:17)
- David mentions the biggest struggle for him, coming from the business world. (39:51)
- Andrea explains why mental health is so important. (45:12)
Key Quotes:
- “I tell people all the time he couldn’t have been born to two better parents. He’s exactly where he needs to be for those reasons.” – David Carothers
- “What scares me to death is the number of kids out there that don’t have parental advocates. Whether it’s because they don’t understand they need to do it, or they’re just disinterested, it’s insane to think there are that many kids going without people fighting for them.” – David Carothers
- “I’m a firm believer in this: Nobody is going to advocate to make sure your kid gets what you need, other than yourself. And, if you believe in something, and you want to change… you have to be that driving force.” – Andrea Carothers
