7 Things You Don't Know About a Special Needs Parent

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/maria-lin/special-needs-parenting_b_1314348.html

This article discusses the struggles and triumphs a parent with a child with a medical and developmental issue has to undergo in everyday life. This article comes from the Huffington Post, an American news website that was launched in 2005 and still growing and expanding. The context of this piece is causal because it has been brought about due to the 6 million children in America receiving special education. The purpose for this article is to show from the point of view of a parent with a child with an intellectual and developmental disability how they truly feel. The audience for this article is the general public because special education children are all around them, and this touching passage can show them how their lives are so much different. Also, the audience is other parents with IDD children because they can share similar characteristics with each other and swap tips on parenting. The rhetorical elements used in this passage was the point of view written from the parent with a child with a medical and developmental issue because it created a more emotional piece and reality to the article. Also, the full circle ending puts the entire article into perspective and thus helps the audience (even people who do not have IDD children) to relate to this parent and feel her thoughts. Due to these rhetorical elements, the author accomplished her purpose and established her credibility well through the eyes of her life.