I Questioned Myself as a Parent After Watching The Movie Wonder

Okay, I am a cry baby for touching movies, I totally admit. I cry at any movie that I relate to, I even cried watching Avengers: Infinity War - I think it's because of the situations where you lose someone you love or fought for.

If you have not watched the movie Wonder - as a parent, especially if you have a child with special needs, then this movie is a must watch for you.

Wonder is based on the best selling novel from R.J Palacio.

This is not a review but more of a realization after watching the movie where my hubhub and I felt that heart pinch with how realistic it was to our life. The story evolves around a little boy named August Pullman or Auggie, who is about to go to to Middle School for the first time, after being homeschooled all his life. This decision came around because his mother (played by Julia Roberts) wanted to finish her doctorate degree and it could only happen if she stopped as Auggie's homeschool teacher.

The catch is Auggie has Treacher Collins syndrome which is a rare condition where it affects the development of facial bones and tissues, his condition becomes a reason for Auggie to be shy and conscious towards other kids since he looks "different". This condition is also the reason why the family seems to struggle with functioning "normal" since the attendtion mainly evolves around Auggie.

I was drawn to Via (Auggie's sister) who seemed to be more in the background - I felt like this was my little lass. Via says in the movie that she feels like Auggie is the Sun and they (Mum, Dad and her) are the planets evolving around him. I thought to myself, this is most likely how our little lass feels and this is how we feel. Our life evolves around our little lad with Autism.

We all adjust to his needs and we fear of a bad day while outside, a visit to the mall would end abruptly, a school affair for our little lass would be incomplete and we really can't go anywhere much especially if he is having a bad day. We have turned down a lot of opportunities because of him but this is something we have accepted. We know he needs us.

This also pains me though with the thought of how it affects our little lass, especially when she says that she wished she was special. Although, we explain to her why her brother needs the attention that he receives and why we have to adjust - it feels sad that she needs to mature because of this. I cherish the times where I get to spend time alone with my little lass be it the small things - including TikTok time.

As a parent of a kid with special needs, we will always be the planets around him. It's my duty to make sure that my little lass also gets a fair share of praise and attention. The movie Wonder opened my eyes further to the reality of the situation that we are in.