For a 37-year-old mother of a child born with a rare genetic disorder, strength comes in helping people understand that these children are not so different from others. Despite having to deal with a difficult pregnancy and a daughter given little chance of survival by doctors, Lissette Lent learned to be hopeful as she has coped with her daughter’s disabilities.
As a parent of a disabled child, Lent saw firsthand how other children, even parents, reacted to her daughter, Maggie Hope. Lent wanted to send a message of acceptance that would resonate with kids and adults alike. To help parents and teachers educate their children how to deal with differently-abled children, Lent wrote a children’s book, We’re Not So Different After All and launched a Kickstarter fundraising campaign to help publish it. Lent hopes that someday the book will be common in libraries of elementary schools across the country.
Lent feels that a lack of understanding is the core to the problem and not insensitivity. She feels education is an important step in giving people the tools they need to deal with disabled children. She wants to help start conversations and to let kids know that it’s OK to ask questions about disabilities so that they can understand that these children are not so different from themselves. She also wants to give disabled children, and the parents who love them, hope and strength in overcoming these challenges.
