Did Your Other Children Accept It?
The father: That's a good question. Public attention almost always focuses on the parents. But the consequences of a disabled child's existence fall heavily on brothers and sisters too. It's a shame how little we talk about that. These are normal children growing up surrounded by innocent suffering at an age when they're not equipped to make sense of life.
They're deeply marked by this contact, especially because they can't let themselves cry out. They're good kids. They see their parents' pain. They don't want to add to it. So they keep their own suffering locked inside.
From "God in Freedom" by Georges Hourdin (pp. 324–325)
"...And then there was other people's pity to deal with. That was the heaviest burden of all. Often there's only one way out: escape. The friends who stayed are people who see us for who we are, not through the distorting lens of being labeled a 'Handicapped Family.'"
Jean Luc – Shadows and Light, no. 38