Precerpt from Raising God's Rainbow Makers - Shane Goes to School: The 100-Stair Leap (Mahlou)
Precerpt (excerpt from book prior to publication): Raising God's Rainbow Makers (Mahlou)
I once thought of Shane as my most “ordinary” child. He was a late walker, a late talker, and content to observe the world quietly. But when he began reading at 23 months—likely earlier, if I’m honest—I had to revise that assumption. He wasn’t slow. He was simply unfolding on his own timeline.
When the fall semester began in 1980, Shane had just turned three. I was deep into my doctoral work at the university, which had a well-regarded lab school with a preschool program. Perfect, I thought. Lizzie was in elementary school, Noelle was thriving in a special needs preschool, and Shane had spent the previous year in a different center alongside her. This setup would be convenient: drop Shane off, climb the hill to my classes, and reunite at day’s end.
On his first day, we parked in the graduate student lot and counted the 100 stairs up to the lab school together. Shane knew his numbers. He was cheerful, curious, and ready to play. I exhaled with relief.
That relief lasted exactly one day.
When I returned to pick him up, the teacher said the director needed to speak with me. I knocked, expecting a routine check-in. Instead, she asked, “Do you know that Shane reads?”
“Oh yes,” I replied. “He’s been reading for more than a year.”
She leaned in. “Do you know that he adds, subtracts, multiplies, and does fractions?”
“Well,” I said, “he does correct the cashier if we’re given the wrong change.”
She smiled, but her next words stunned me: “We can’t keep him in preschool. He’s too advanced. We’d like to place him in first grade.”
My mind raced with stories of social maladjustment among highly gifted children. I consulted the university’s professor of gifted education, who reassured me: “Kids this advanced cognitively are usually socially advanced too.”
So, on Shane’s second day of school, he entered first grade. I still see him in my mind’s eye—three years old, lunchbox in one hand, tiptoes stretched to reach the doorknob of the big school.
Thus began a childhood of never quite fitting into classroom chairs, though he fit in with his older peers. That chair issue would resurface in seventh grade when he was ten—a story for another day.
Watching Young Sheldon years later brought a wave of nostalgia. If only that series had aired before Shane finished college—it might’ve saved me a few sleepless nights and given me a roadmap for raising a child who defied every expectation.
Book Description:
A Family Memoir of Grace, Grit, and Growing Up Different
What happens when a military family welcomes four children—each with wildly different needs—into a world not always built to support them?
In Raising God’s Rainbow Makers, one mother shares the remarkable journey of raising two children with complex disabilities—one with spina bifida, one with CHARGE Syndrome—and two intellectually gifted children, all born in different states during years of military life. Through medical crises, educational challenges, and societal roadblocks (both intentional and unintentional), this honest and inspiring memoir tells the story of how one family built a life of strength, compassion, and resilience.
With warmth and unflinching honesty, the author reflects on emergency surgeries, IEP battles, unexpected victories, and the fierce sibling bonds that formed in the face of it all. The children—now grown—bear witness to the power of support, faith, and never giving up.
This is not just a story of survival. It is a celebration of difference, a chronicle of hope, and a powerful testament to what love and determination can build when the world says "impossible."
Keywords:
Parenting memoir; Special needs parenting; Raising children with disabilities; Military family life; Family resilience; Inspirational family story; Faith-based memoir; Coping with medical challenges; Sibling support stories; Gifted children; Spina bifida; CHARGE Syndrome; Hydrocephalus; Congenital disabilities; Complex medical needs; Pediatric neurosurgery; IEP and special education; Gifted education; Educational advocacy; Inclusive education; Hope and healing; Courage and strength; Love and perseverance; Raising different children; Disability acceptance; Parenting through adversity; Overcoming barriers; Finding joy in hardship; Special needs journey; Family unity and support; For parents of disabled children; For parents of gifted children; For educators and therapists; Christian parenting memoir; For families facing rare diagnoses; Real-life parenting stories; Memoirs about raising children; Stories of medical miracles
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