I am lucky to have a strong support system, something that I have especially realized this past year after the birth of my son and raising him as a single mom. I think that the biggest factor in my support system is my family. My family has supported me emotionally (by giving me encouragement, love, and acceptance), practical support (watching my son when I am at work), financially (helping provide food and shelter for us) and physically (helping care for my son when I had a sprained wrist and could not easily lift him!). I have other supports that I rely on besides my family; I have my friends and colleagues for emotional support, a daily planner for practical support (to keep track of my work schedule, lists, appointments, etc.), and a vehicle and stroller for physical support (so that I can get to work and take my son places without having to carry him all the time!) If I did not have these supports in my life, I think things would be a lot more difficult. It would be hard to get my daily tasks done and hard to provide the care my son needs.
One asset that I have is that I am familiar with the area I live in (I was born and raised here in San Diego) and I speak the dominant language fluently. I imagined that if I were to move to a foreign country where I did not know my way around and did not speak the dominant language I would face many challenges. I would imagine that the supports I would need would include access to someone who could help me translate, a map or directory of services (such as grocery stores, hospitals, child care, etc.), and access to transportation, whether it be public or private. If I were in a foreign country and did not know my way around and did not speak the dominant language, it would be hard to complete my daily tasks and provide for my son without supports such as these. Without access to translation, I could not ask questions, receive help, or communicate with anyone. Without knowing where services were I would not be able to have access to the doctor in case of emergency or shop for food. And without transportation, or knowledge of how to use the transportation, I would not be able to go anywhere that was not within walking distance.
Imaging having a challenge like this really makes me thankful for the supports that I do have in my life. It also helps put things in perspective of why it is so important for professionals to help provide supports to the families and children we work with-we might not be aware of the challenges that they are faced with!
