About Us

The inspiration of HEROES was ignited by my son. One evening, I was tucking him into bed and he said mom am I ever going to be normal? In a soothing voice I asked what is normal? I am not normal, Lou is not normal, Noah is not normal and Bootsey (our dog) isn’t normal. No one in this house is normal. Normal to you is different from what someone else sees as normal. He responded that kids in school were making fun of him and saying he isn’t normal. I said well maybe they aren’t normal for thinking that you are not normal. He went to bed, I began bawling; how could kids be so mean? I felt lost, hopeless, and ALONE. I began to plan how to fix these feelings. I have a masters in special education pk-8, advanced educational background and if I am feeling this way, what is a parent/ guardian feeling without any educational background or experience on disabilities? I reached out to a few individuals and we agreed that Warren County NEEDED a support group. There have been some in the past but none of them maintained a presence. I researched how to run a support group, and then all I needed was a name…. I came across a similar meme and HEROES was created in January of 2018.

About HEROES:

I started this group after I had a very emotional night. I was tucking in my 10 year old son, who is autistic. He looked at me and said “mommy am I ever going to be a normal boy?” I held it together long enough for us to talk about what “normal” is. I walked downstairs and bawled. Here I am with my MS.Ed in Special Education, 14 years experience in a special education classroom, and a concentration in Autism and I am bawling. Why? I felt alone. I blame myself. This is my baby. I want him to be the best that he can be. I thought about it and decided that I was going to start a support group.

The next day, I did some research and found there were not many support groups for parents who have children with disabilities. Three months later HEROES was born and met for the first time. I couldn’t be more excited for the future of the group.

HEROES

A support group for parents with individuals (of all ages) with any disability.

HEROES’ Mission

HEROES’ MISSION IS TO ENCOURAGE PARENTS TO COME TOGETHER, NETWORK, AND GAIN STRENGTH BY SHARING EXPERIENCES AND FEELINGS WITH PEERS IN A SAFE ENVIRONMENT AS WELL AS CREATING A WORLD FOR OUR HEROES THAT WILL CHANGE SOCIAL MISPERCEPTIONS.

Meaning behind the butterfly…

The butterfly is the symbol for ADHD. The body of the butterfly is an infinity symbol which is a symbol for neurodivergent disabilities. The colors in the wings are the colors in the disability pride flag. The green represents sensory perception, red– physical disabilities, white– invisible/undiagnosed disabilities, yellowintellectual/cognitive disabilities, and blue— mental health. The hearts represent the love and support of HEROES.