A Father's Day tribute to the dad's of special needs children

Fathers deserve their day in the sun. But this is a special shout out to the fathers of special needs children. You deserve more than a day of dedication, but I suspect that you are just glad if you get an hour to yourself. Here are some reasons why I think my husband is an amazing dad to our sons living with autism.

Patience. Your cup runneth over with this stuff. You are calm among the storm that is autism. In our case, x2. You are the calmest, most easy going person I know, and I love you for it.

You have developed thick skin over years of hearing co-workers and family share their kids triumph of honors, high SAT scores, college acceptance, and every other milestone imaginable. I know it must be a dagger to the heart some days. But you keep it to yourself.

That brings us to bottling things up. It's not the healthy way, but men do it. It simply isn't acceptable in society for a man to break down in tears. You handle your emotions so well. You don't get to cry it out like moms get to do. You bottle it up deep inside you. It must be so hard to be the strong one all the time. I am glad to be there for you when you feel like releasing the emotions that are kept hidden away from the rest of the world.

The stress that you carry from day to day can weigh you down. It's no secret that we face challenges that many people will never know. As the bread winner in the family, I imagine that you carry around a great deal of stress. You worry about being able to provide for our family, and meeting the financial demands of caring for special needs children for years to come. Somehow, you manage to do it all.

You work hard. You are dedicated to your job, but still manage to be a good father. Soccer, basketball practice, and taking over home making duties while I work on Sundays. Even when you are traveling for work, you manage to use facetime to be a part of our lives every day.

You never give up hope in our boys. You believe that they can achieve. That outlook is something that our sons see every day. You always try to teach the boys everything that they need to know to be as independent as possible. And on those days where it's hard for me to push ahead, you are there to encourage and remind me what our ultimate goal is. For our boys to lead productive, independent lives. You are always there for me. On the days when I want to cry, feel discouraged, or scared, you are there to lift me up.

But the most amazing gift that you give to us is unconditional love. You always let us know that you love us, no matter how hectic, exhausted, frazzled we may all be. Alex, you rock my world. Thank you for being an amazing father.

Happy Father's Day to all the dads of special needs children.