A child with special needs is a feat that no parent expects to have to take on. It’s a trying battle almost every day for some of these parents. Certainly, there’s a wide range of disabilities and disorders out there that can make living with special needs span from a mild challenge to a life-changing struggle.

Autism Spectrum Disorder is a good example of such. There are children who are on the spectrum (which isn’t so much a range itself as people think it is) who appear to be the neurotypical child to most onlookers. They don’t bang their head against furniture or scream in the middle of the restaurant. They might have some quirks, though, that set them apart from the rest, such as sensory issues or a lot of stimming.

Then there are children on the spectrum who have no verbal abilities. They can’t talk. They have no bowel control even as adults. They need constant supervision, and their parents will have to care for them for the rest of their own lives.

One would think that money can buy health. In some cases, it can. If money helps one to afford a quality diet, the best healthcare, and so on, it’s a bonus. But money won’t rid a child of epilepsy. It won’t take away Asperger’s. If it could, these celebs would be home free.

13 Toni Braxton And Keri Lewis

This R&B songstress had made some serious headlines in recent years when discussing her son’s autism diagnosis. Why? Because it no longer pertains to him. That’s right. She’s joined the ranks of other parents who have claimed to cure their child of autism. Don’t believe it? It’s not that uncommon.

Autism is commonly diagnosed in children who present certain behaviors. If therapy and other recovery efforts — like healing coinfections — happen to reduce those behaviors or eliminate them altogether, the child may no longer meet the guidelines for a diagnosis of autism.

While Toni’s son, Diezel, was diagnosed at just three-years old, he has made a remarkable recovery and now at 14-years old possesses very few signs of the disorder. Understandably, most of these kids still have some quirks. Hey, who doesn’t? But their symptoms are not severe enough to claim they’re still on the spectrum.

12 Jacqueline And Chris Laurita

When this Real Housewives of New Jersey star and her hubby found out their son, Nicholas, had autism, their world came tumbling down around them. They knew something was wrong. He started to regress. He lost his ability to speak words that he had been saying fluidly. Autism starts this way for a lot of parents.

Slowly, Nicholas stopped recognizing his own name. His motor skills got poorer. Jacqueline has spoken publicly about her family’s struggles to come to terms with the diagnosis. They have sought out multiple treatment methods and intensive occupational and speech therapies for Nick, and he’s made some serious improvements, but the road ahead is surely paved with sharp turns they may not see coming.

Jacqueline and Chris have been a solid example of what parents need to do for one another when tackling life with a special needs child: stay together. Stay strong. Communicate. Support one another. Grieve together. Don’t pull away.

11 Leighanne Wallace And Brian Littrell

Back in 2008, 6-year old Baylee Littrell was seen at the hospital for a myriad of puzzling symptoms. Doctors initially though he was battling hand, foot and mouth disease, along with strep throat and erythema multiforme. As it would turn out, Baylee had atypical Kawasaki disease.

Kawasaki disease causes intense inflammation in the arteries of the heart, as well as some of the arteries throughout the body. In Baylee’s case, the disease had made its way to his heart and caused some damage. This warranted a lot of supervision in the months following diagnosis.

Kawasaki disease itself does go away over time. However, it often takes its toll on the body and can lead to further complications that impact the individual for the rest of their life. While Baylee way have suffered some of those side effects, it hasn’t slowed him down. Just last year, he was starring in Broadway’s Disaster!

10 Sarah And Todd Palin

In 2008, Sarah Palin welcomed her son into the world alongside hubby Todd. It was a joyous moment for them both, regardless of the circumstances. The Palins found out early on in Sarah’s pregnancy that Trig would be born facing what the one-time presidential candidate referred to as “special challenges”.

Once upon a time, the testing performed in early pregnancy to check for chromosomal abnormalities was something that was only recommended and available to mothers over the age of 35 — which Palin qualified for. Today, it’s open to all expectant mothers of any age. Why? As uncomfortable of a topic as it is, it’s because it gives parents an opportunity to terminate the pregnancy earlier.

Believe it or not, as many as 92 percent of people who receive positive results for Down syndrome decide to abort. That wasn’t what the Palin’s had in mind, though. Sarah has stated, “Trig is beautiful and already adored by us. We feel privileged that God would entrust us with this gift and allow us unspeakable joy as he entered our lives.”

9 Nicole And John C. McGinley

Best known for his roles in Office Space and Scrubs, John C. McGinley is playing a whole different character at home. There, he’s just Dad. In 1997, his son Max was born with Down syndrome. This was just the start of McGinley’s advocacy to end the use of the R-word and promote better awareness of what Down syndrome really is and how people can get involved and help.

While the comedian isn’t cracking up with his fans, he’s pushing for awareness walks and frequenting talk shows to spread the message that people with Down syndrome are not abnormal or different from the rest of us. Instead, he insists they’re more like us than we give them credit for. Maybe it’s time for the world to look at life through McGinley’s eyes. Why do we automatically assume it’s a bad thing to wear one’s heart on their sleeve?

8 Laura San Giacomo And Cameron Dye

While many of us recognize her as the best friend in Pretty Woman or David Spade’s perfect opposition in Just Shoot Me, Laura San Giacomo is no stranger to coming in second. That’s life with a special needs child. While we often joke that mothers always come last, it’s often no truer than when a child with developmental delays or disabilities is in the picture.

When Laura’s son was born with cerebral palsy, she was taken aback and grieved for the childhood she had thought her child would have. This is a normal step in the process. Today, though, her son is 21-years old. He attended and graduated from a fully inclusive public charter school, and Laura credits much of his advancements in life to that choice.

These schools focus on grouping all kinds of kids together. So, gifted and talented kids, neurotypical kids, and even those with disabilities are all together throughout the day. No more segregation. It teaches acceptance and helps with peer modeling for even the most extreme cases of disability. Laura has been a huge advocate of this model over the years.

7 Katie Price And Dwight Yorke

Katie Price has most certainly struggled with the journey motherhood has taken her on. Her son Harvey, now 13-years old, suffers from Prader-Willi syndrome, autism, attention deficit hyperactivity disorder, and blindness.

The well-known party girl has caught a lot of flak for behaviors in her past and many have called her out for it and blamed her son’s disabilities on such. While she’s addressed this publicly and shamed those haters, truthfully, who could be sure?

We know that many parents have pasts like this. A lifestyle full of substance abuse does indeed deplete micronutrients in the mother’s body. Therefore, there is potential that a child born later on could be exposed to some harm because of it. That being said, Katie was super careful during her pregnancy and on her best behavior. That’s what counts. We should be educating, not shaming.

6 Victoria And David Beckham

Surprised? When people think special needs, they often jump to conclusions about mentally incapacitated children who are unable to care for themselves or behave appropriately in public. But the truth is, the term special needs covers a lot of illnesses, and the Beckham’s middle son fits right in there.

Young Romeo suffers from epilepsy. The Beckham’s spent the latter part of 2005 struggling to figure out what was wrong with their son as he suffered from seizing fits. If you don’t count migraine headaches, epilepsy is actually the most common nervous system disorder there is. A reported 1 in 26 people suffer from it during their lifetime.

While it isn’t a mental disorder, it does qualify as making a child have special needs. It disables the individual in a physical and mental capacity during seizing episodes. These events can lead to brain damage and even death.

As a result of Romeo’s condition, flash photography can trigger seizing. For this reason, Posh spice had to come clean with the press and beg of them not to use it when paparazzi photogs are eager to get a shot of the young lad out in public with his uber famous parents.

5 Pegi And Neil Young

Cerebral palsy affects more than 1 in 4,000 children born each year. Neil Young’s son with ex-wife Pegi, named Ben, is just one of those children. An adult today, Ben has gone to great lengths to strive for a life outside of CP. He hasn’t let it dominate him.

The family ranch on Skyline Blvd in California was the starting point for Ben when he decided to dig deeper into his interest in chickens. Yes, chickens. He’s 27-years old this year and the ranch is in full swing as an egg farm run by Ben.

Cerebral palsy may have limited Ben’s physical abilities, but it didn’t deter him from going full steam ahead with Ben’s Coastside Farms. While the venture is small, it took off quickly and sales from local farmer’s markets in the region have been outstanding. He and his partner, Dustin Cline, hope to scale the business to a larger feat in the future.

4 Holly Robinson And Rodney Peete

Most families have their ups and downs, and most wouldn’t have it any other way. It’s the hard times and how we deal with them as parents that make us shine. Actress Holly Robinson Peete and her hubby, ex-NFL quarterback Rodney Peete knew they were taking on a lot having four kids. What they didn’t expect — and how could any parent — was that they would be autism parents.

Their oldest children are twins, Rodney Jackson — nicknamed R.J. — and Ryan. When R.J. started to develop signs of developmental delays, the Peete’s weren’t sure who to turn to. After a lot of doctor shopping and searching for answers, it became apparent that it was autism they were dealing with.

What is truly remarkable about the Peete couple is that they chose not to let autism scare them away from being parents. Believe it or not, this is very common. They went on to have Robinson and Roman. Studies have shown that one-third of parent with an ASD child stop having kids after the diagnosis, whether that child was their first, second, or third.

3 Dana Klein And Mark Feuerstein

Almost all parents worry at some point — usually during pregnancy — about the potential for something to be wrong with their child. They get through that anatomy scan with their fingers crossed hoping that all is well. However, those prenatal scans won’t pick up on every issue. Such as Anomalous Left Coronary Artery from the Pulmonary Artery — ALCAPA for short.

That’s what Royal Pain’s Mark Feuerstein and his wife, Dana Klein, were floored by when their daughter Adelaide was just six months old. They suspected something might be off far sooner, but the doctor assured them that crying was normal for babies, and they kept brushing it off.

While Addie doesn’t struggle in any mental capacity, the first year of her life was riddled with surgeries and trips to the doctor. Sometimes, Mark was away shooting in New York and unable to be there while his baby girl was hospitalized for months. We’re thrilled this couple managed to stay together through all of that and take their baby home with a repaired heart.

2 Tisha Campbell-Martin And Duane Martin

Tisha Campbell-Martin’s son Xen was diagnosed with autism as a small child, and the journey to help him has been relentless on her part ever since. When Tisha sat down with local radio host Maria More, she wasn’t holding back. She spoke of her son’s autism saying:

“I gave myself three days, to mourn the loss of my dreams of aspirations for my kid. Now I had to get him to just say mommy, ouch, hurt, please, love you. That’s all I needed. You gotta put in the work and you don’t have time to feel guilty, you just gotta get everybody on the same page and quick.”

Autism moms everywhere can relate to this statement. It’s the unity that bonds them. This unspoken agreement that even on the days where you really want to give up and throw in the towel, there’s no time for it. It’s not a question of whether or not you want to fight any more. It’s a must. There is no easy road with autism.

1 Kim Bordenave And Colin Farrell

Turning 14 this year, Colin Farrell and Kim Bordenave’s son James is certainly a special, and rare, case. Colin addressed the media in October of 2007 and reported that his son suffered from Angelman syndrome. How common it is remains unknown. Some studies have pegged it at 1 in 24,000 while others claim it’s twice as likely as that. Still, it’s not something that is diagnosed frequently.

Often misdiagnosed as autism or cerebral palsy, Angelman syndrome manifests with many similar symptoms, such as seizures, developmental delays, problems with speech, and trouble walking. Colin has made it a personal mission to advocate for more awareness and research for AS. Colin told People Magazine:

“Things like walking and talking and eating and feeding himself, all those things that so many of us naturally take for granted because they come so easily, to James, they come somewhat harder … I remember the days when he couldn’t watch 10 minutes of a film because he couldn’t sit still, but now he can.”

Sources: Genetics Home Reference, Angelman Syndrome Foundation, Charlotte Lozier institute, Cure Epilepsy, CDC, Disability Scoop