53 Motivational Quotes to Inspire Special Needs Parents

Parenting any child comes with its own set of ups and downs. As we navigate our individual journeys, we often need a little encouragement to help us through the day. Here are 53 motivational quotes to inspire you and remind you of life’s possibilities.

Every day offers a chance for a new beginning. As the days ahead unfold, use these uplifting quotes to find inspiration. We are all “traveling our paths,” and we can all benefit from a bit of encouragement. Remember, every day is an opportunity to seek out life’s possibilities. Use these quotes for inspiration as you move forward.

1. Once you accept that your child will be different, not better or worse…just different, that’s the first step ~ unknown

2. It’s not a Race, It’s a Journey! ~ Cynthia Carr Falardeau

3. Until you have a kid with special needs, you have no idea of the depth of your strength, tenacity, and resourcefulness. ~ unknown

4. Knowledge of what is possible is the beginning of happiness ~ George Santayana

5. Special needs parents are the equivalent of Batman, Captain America, and the Incredible Hulk combined with a side of Mary Poppins. ~ unknown

6. Sometimes, the things we can’t change end up changing us. ~ Unknown

7. While we try to teach our children all about life, our children teach us what life is all about. ~ Angela Schwindt

8 You have a choice each and every single day. I choose to feel blessed. I choose to feel grateful. I choose to be thankful. I choose to be happy. ~ Unknown

9. If you can’t fly, then run. If you can’t run, then walk. If you can’t walk, then crawl. But, whatever you do, you have to keep moving forward.” ~ Martin Luther King Jr.

10. Parenthood is about raising and celebrating the child you have, not the child you thought you’d have. It’s about understanding your child is exactly the person they are supposed to be. And, if you’re lucky, they might be the teacher who turns you into the person you’re supposed to be. ~The Water Giver

11. Sometimes, God doesn’t change your situation because he’s trying to change your heart. ~ Unknown

12. Change happens in increments ~ Mel Robbins

13. Acceptance doesn’t mean resignation. It means understanding that something is what it is, and that there’s going to be a way through it. ~ Michael J. Fox

14. Every survival kit should include a sense of humor. ~ Anonymous

15. Children with special needs aren’t sent to special parents. They make parents special.  ~ Unknown

16. Most people see what is and never see what can be. ~ Albert Einstein

17. Our minds are as different as our faces; we are all traveling to one destination—happiness—but few are going on the same road. ~ unknown

18. Pencil it in on the calendar, never pen. Be flexible. ~ Kodi Wilson

19. It’s about progress, not perfection. ~Melissa Cote

20. My kid takes longer to ‘grow up.’ Secretly, that is sort of awesome. ~Rebecca Smith Masterson

21. The best and most beautiful things in the world cannot be seen or even touched—they must be felt with the heart. ~ Helen Keller

22. Storms make oaks take root. ~ proverb

23. The disability is not the problem. The accessibility is the problem. ~ Mohamed Jemni

24. Sometimes, the difficult things that happen in our lives put us directly on the path to the best things that will ever happen to us. ~ unknown

25. Your limitation is only your imagination.  ~ unknown

26. Wake up with determination. Go to bed with satisfaction. ~ unknown

27. Do something today that your future self will thank you for. ~ unknown

28. Sometimes, we’re tested not to show our weaknesses but to discover our strengths. ~ unknown

29. The key to success is to focus on goals, not obstacles. ~ unknown

30. What seems to us as bitter trials are often blessings in disguise. ~ Oscar Wilde

31. Go confidently in the direction of your dreams. Live the life you have imagined. ~ Henry David Thoreau

32. Promise me you’ll always remember that You’re braver than you believe, stronger than you seem, smarter than you think, and loved more than you know. ~ Christopher Robin

33. Be strong enough to stand alone, smart enough to know when you need help, and brave enough to ask for it. ~  Ziad K. Abdelnour

34. Some of the most wonderful people are the ones who don’t fit into boxes. ~ Tori Amos

35. Our greatest glory is not in never falling but in rising every time we fall. ~Confucius

36. Let us not look back in anger, nor forward in fear, but around in awareness. ~James Thurber

37. Each child is a different kind of flower, which makes this world a beautiful garden. ~ Unknown

38. It’s not what happens to you but how you react to it that matters. ~ Epictetus

39. Even the smallest person can change the course of the future. ~ J.R.R. Tolkien

40. I wouldn’t change you for the world, but I’ll change the world for you. ~Unknown

41. When you focus on someone’s disability, you’ll overlook their abilities, beauty, and uniqueness.  ~ Unknown

42. Embrace the unique way your child is blooming—even if it’s not in the garden you imagined. ~ Jenn Soehnlin

43. Strength doesn’t come from what you can do. It comes from overcoming the things you once thought you couldn’t. ~ Rikki Rogers

44. Every day may not be good, but there is something good in every day. ~ Alice Morse Earle

45. A journey of a thousand miles begins with a single step. ~ Lao Tzu

46. Patience is not the ability to wait but the ability to keep a good attitude while waiting. ~ Joyce Meyer

47. Love is never about how much you say ‘I love you’ but how much you prove it by what you do. ~ Unknown

48. Sometimes, it’s the people no one can imagine anything of who do the things no one can imagine. ~ Alan Turing

49. The strongest people are not those who show strength in front of us, but those who win battles we know nothing about. ~ Unknown

50. To the world, you may be one person, but to one person, you may be the world. ~ Dr. Seuss

51. Kindness is a language that the deaf can hear and the blind can see. ~ Mark Twain

52. Not everything that is faced can be changed, but nothing can be changed until it is faced. ~ James Baldwin

53. Parenting a child with special needs is not about what you can’t do but what you discover you can. ~Unknown

You May Also Like

• 17 Most Popular Inspirational Quotes
• The Puppy – A Story from Chicken Soup for the Soul
• A Letter to the Sibling of a Child with Special Needs
• The Special Mother
• Dad’s Emotional Video Defending Down Syndrome
• Daddy Loves You: A Reminder for Daddies of Children with Special Needs
• A Story of Inspiration: How Vernon Changed My Perception of Disability
• Autistic Teen Finds Inner Voice
• Ever Wonder What It’s Like to Experience Sensory Overload?
• Service Dogs to the Rescue: Helping to Make Dreams Come True
• Handling Your Child’s Diagnosis: Six Things Parents Should Do For Themselves
• 8 Ways to be a Great Advocate For Your Family Member With Special Needs
• I Do Not like Being a Special Needs Parent and That’s OK
• Coping with the Life You Never Imagined
• Developing Your Own Network
• The Gift of a Limb