The 12 Stages
by Ashley Roberts You have heard of the stages of grief when dealing with death, but have you heard of the 12 stages of emotion for the special needs parent? Eleanor Westhead and Rick Lavoie came up with strikingly similar theories at approximately the same time. I've had the great pleasure of hearing Rick Lavoie speak and found the stages of being a special needs parent to be rather profound, and in my advocacy life, learned that it bears so much truth. I have said before th