Grief

Sometimes people grieve when no death is involved - except maybe the death of a dream.

It's not uncommon for parents to grieve when they learn their child has special needs and won't be able to have the life they'd imagined.

Or if someone learns they have a disability or chronic illness themselves grief is a normal reaction.

As when someone dies, it's usual to go through the five stages of grief explained by Elizabeth Kubler-Ross (sorry I don't know how to add umlauts to her name.) Those stages are denial, anger, bargaining, depression, and acceptance and people may cycle through them for a long time or return to them long after they've come to terms with the situation. The same thing is true with the sort of grief I'm talking about, and any of the stages can re-occur at any time.

If they do, it's perfectly normal.

What is a Disability?

Legally, according to the Americans with Disabilities Act (1990) a disability is "a physical or mental impairment that substantially limits one or more of the major life activities."

Meeting the ADA requirements can sometimes be expensive but the world has become a better place in many ways because of them, and not only for people who have disabilities. 

For example, when I was younger wheelchairs were rarely seen in public places, but once curb cuts became required  they not only gave more freedom to people using wheelchairs, they also helped people pushing strollers and riding bikes. Back then Sign Language was rarely used in public, but now it has become recognized by Linguists as a real language and many little children have learned to use signs instead of having tantrums. And millions of Americans have had their lives enriched by getting to know people with special needs.