How to explain MAW

[jennydep]

My 7 year old daughter, Michaela, has Down Syndrome and was just diagnosed with leukemia on Dec. 7. She is doing well with treatments and has a very good prognosis. We were told she qualifies for a wish. We had been planning a trip to Disney in spring of 2006, so we thought we'd go ahead and make that her wish. But the more I've read about wishes, the more I want to make sure this is her wish and not mine. For those of you with kids with mental handicaps, how did you explain MAW to your kids? She's a very high functioning child, but I don't know how to explain this so she gets what she wants. Thanks for any advice you can give.

Jenny

 

[mrsbornkuntry]

My son doesn't have any mental handicaps, but he was diagnosed with leukemia also. He's 5 and I simply asked him "if you could wish for anything in the whole world what would it be?" At the time he had just had a stem cell transplant and had to wear a mask to go anywhere in public so he just said "anywhere without my mask." So I did suggest WDW, also because he kept seeing the commercial for the Playhouse Disney show at MGM and kept saying "I want to go there!" When they asked what he wanted to do he said "go to Mickey Mouse World" without any hesitation. I'm not sure if this would help you or not since it is a different situation, but I thought I would share how we handled it in case you could get something from it.

My thoughts and prayers are with you and your daughter.

 

[roseprincess]

I know initially when the ball got rolling for my dd to qualify for a wish, my local MAW office sent out a packet in the mail for my dh and I to read about MAW. this packet was sent out a few weeks before our Wish Granter came out for a visit with my dd and the rest of my family. There were 4 general wishes to choose from that the Wish granter wanted us to work with our dd and to pick one out. the wishes were: I wish to be......, I wish to have......., I wish to meet........, and I wish to go to.......
We were told by my dd's wish granter the I wish to have and I wish to go to were the most popular wishes to be granted. Only one of these 4 can be granted. You can ask for the MAW packet to be mailed out to you by the local MAW office that will be working with you. You can also go on
www.makeawish.org and click on about the explanation of wishes and also just browse the website since they talk about different children's wishes on their website.

I know for my dd, she wanted to go to WDW. My dd is also 7 and has some dev. and cognitive delays.

Roseprncess

 

[SueM in MN]

Just wanted to wish you well.
Sounds like good advice from the other posters.

 

[seashoreCM]

You could let your child "make the wish" one day but don't do anything yet. Then let the child "make the wish" a few days later as a second opinion. This way you can get a better idea of what the child really wants as opposed to buying something on impulse.

Disney hints:
http://members.aol.com/ajaynejr/disney.htm

 

[SandrainNC]

Hi Jenny! I don't have any advice but wanted to say that I will keep Michaela in my thoughts and prayers. My son (who just turned 4 last week) also has Down syndrome. I hope whatever she wishes for comes true!

Sandra

 

[jennydep]

Thanks, Sandra. We are taking all the prayers we can get!!

If anyone is interested, they can see my brave little girl at our website:
www.deputyfamily.net.

Jenny

 

[HayGan]

Hugs and prayers for you and your sweet angel!

She is an absolutely adorable little girl and it sounds like she is doing well!

Enjoy her wish - whatever it may be

 

[DJBounce]

We are in a similar circumstance. Our daughter has also mental retardation and cerebral palsy. She cannot talk. When Make a Wish was asking for further information (doctor's name, address, etc.), I asked the representative if Tiffani would not qualify bccause she cannot talk, therefore, unable to verbally express a wish. She asked me if Tiffani can communicate in her own way, which she can. The representative assured me that her inability to talk would not disqualify her. I know what makes Tiffani happy. I have never seen her as happy as when we are riding Splash Mountain over and over and over again. So, now that I know her doctor has qualified her for a wish, I think we are going to suggest going back to WDW so she can ride Splash Mountain. I just don't want this to look or sound like it is our wish. She loves going to Disneyworld, along with the rest of us.

My thoughts and prayers are with your daughter. Good luck!