Soledad O'Brien Quotes

After I got married, the first child born to us was mentally handicapped.

To the families of special needs children all across this country I have a message for you: for years you have sought to make America a more welcoming place for your sons and daughters, and I pledge to you that if we're elected, you will have a friend, an advocate, in The White House.

It always helps to know that other parents with special-needs children are surviving, and surviving well.

It's nice to have more than one little one because then you'll have - while one is pushing you in a wheelchair, the other one can open the doors for you.

As I grew up, I became aware that there are people with special needs out there, and I have a real connection with them.

I completely admire my mother for raising a child with cerebral palsy at home.

Looking out for your children is an ongoing process throughout your life.

I think I'm a good father. As a parent, you have the responsibility to create a foundation for your children so that they can meet all the challenges.

I grew up with a special-needs brother, and the separation from other kids is so extreme. We've got to break down those barriers.

My heart bleeds, goes out for families with kids with autism.

In bringing up a child, think of its old age.

The minute your child is born, your life is changed forever. I think I've become so aware of how important balance is in life.

I think adoption is a blessing all around when it's done right.

You think, "Aw man, I would never want somebody else's poop on my hand," but when it's your child, "Oh, it's not that bad, I'll just wash it off."

The message I'll share...is that inclusion is extremely important for kids with and without disabilities.

We don't think much about how our love stories will affect the world, but they do. Children learn what's worth living for and what's worth dying for by the stories they watch us live. I want to teach our children how to get scary close, and more, how to be brave. I want to teach them that love is worth what it costs.

We all have disabilities. Just some are more visible than others. We all have challenges, we all have obstacles

People always tell me I need to have a kid, and I say, No, I don't. Because I wouldn't have just one kid; I'd have six. I need a huge family. So I just kind of fill my house with tons of rejects and misfits so it feels like I have a bunch of children.

If every child matters, every child has the right to a good start in life. If every child matters, every child has the right to be included. And that is so important for children with special needs.

There are many important elements to being a parent. A lot of people don't have fathers but they might have someone in their life who's a good male influence and support. There's no cookie-cutter way of raising children and no family is the same, but the most important thing is that children are loved, supported and cared for, whether it's coming from a relative or a friend or a grandfather or a good school teacher. Anyone. Children just need good examples and mentoring to teach them and show them how to do things.

I have always loved children. I've been fantasizing about motherhood since I was probably 2 ½. I loved to babysit my cousins, and nieces, you know.

It is a very important matter, as a woman, to juggle everything... Your professional life, family, children etc.

Grandparents are God's gifts to children.

And...I think that's what life is all about, actually, about children and flowers.

I think because I was a mother, it helped me feel comfortable that really my primary goal there was to save my kids.