Your child may have special needs and he may be different from other children, but he is also special in his own ways, and it's your job to figure out how. Once you have, capitalize on opportunities to let him experience his special-ness. You may feel disappointment because you wish this product were more representative or age-appropriate. The most difficult thing you may have to learn to do is to keep a check on your expectations and learn when to push for more and when to put your child's self-esteem before your own expectations. Respond to your child's dependency needs and assertiveness by knowing when your child needs your warmth and when your child needs you to let him grow.
Emotional signals can be tricky.
At other times your child may be struggling but needs you to be able to tolerate her struggle in order for her to grow. At the wrong time, either response will feel like a lack of empathy to your child, and he will feel misunderstood. In order to achieve competence in this area, parents may have to examine their own reactions to dependency and autonomy both to their child and to other people in their environment. Parents of special needs children also carry around a great deal of guilt, which sometimes gets in the way of responding in a developmentally appropriate manner. Have an open mind about yourself, get lots of reality checks by asking others to provide you with feedback, and be willing to bear a little of your child's suffering along with her so that she can grow.