To many, a stern glance passed across a restaurant is more than likely in response to being too loud with a group of friends, laughter bubbling up and echoing past their own table into the vicinity of others.
Or it’s given in the checkout line of a store when a toddler is mid-breakdown, tired from a long day on their feet.
However, what many don’t realize is that for certain individuals, the ability to manage their reactions or emotions with age and social awareness isn’t always within reach when confronted with disapproving looks.
According to the World Health Organization, special needs affect roughly 16% of the world’s population — whether that be physical or mental limitations.
Solomon Littleton is one of these one-in-six individuals. His father, Eric Littleton, is one of the people in Solomon’s life devoted to providing care not only for his own son, but also for others who have faced judgment for circumstances beyond their control – a mission he’s pursuing through his latest endeavor, the Special Needs Dayhab of Whitesboro.
When Solomon was born, he was neurotypical. But at age six, he contracted a rare, life-threatening neurological disease, flipping the life the Littletons knew upside- down. While Solomon survived against the odds, the illness left him nonverbal and with the cognitive abilities of a three-year-old.
“When our Solomon was in the hospital sick in 2009, our insurance company and other people completely dropped us,” Eric said. “But then there were others who came to our rescue and were superheroes. After that, it became humanly impossible for us not to be moved to the point of action when people were in need.”
While both Eric and his wife, Marci, are school teachers who have worked with many children with diverse abilities, parenting a child with special needs comes with its own unique challenges and rewards.
It wasn’t until Solomon was on the verge of aging out of the public education system, and Eric and Marci began teaching in Whitesboro, that the Littletons recognized an opportunity to serve a broader community of individuals like their son.
“When kids turn 22, they’re no longer allowed to attend public schools,” Eric said. “There was basically nowhere for Solomon to go, and we knew that there were other families who have kids like Solomon who are lower functioning and don’t have a facility that they can go to during the day. And that’s what led us to the dayhab – there wasn’t anything in Whitesboro like this.”
The thought of starting a dayhab of their own didn’t formulate until 2024, but that didn’t mean the matter of Solomon’s daily care wasn’t already on their radar long before.
“For all special needs families, it’s this giant truck that’s coming down the road straight at you really fast,” Eric said. “And there are two of these huge markers. One of them is, ‘What’s going to happen to my kid when he or she turns 22?’ The other question is, ‘What’s going to happen to my kid when I’m gone?’”
With these questions circulating in their minds—and with the knowledge they had gained from caring for Solomon and connecting with other special needs families and dayhab centers—Eric and Marci decided they could find the answers themselves by starting one of their own.
“At its most basic level, it’s providing a safe, clean, loving and enriching environment for all these kids,” Eric said. “And so for us, we wanted to know that wherever we sent Solomon, he was going to be safe. Number two, we wanted it to be loving. Number three, we wanted it to be an enriching experience where he’s not just sitting there staring at a TV set all day. And so based upon those criteria, we just said, ‘You know, let’s create something of our own.’”
The Littletons have worked tirelessly over the past year to turn their mission into a reality. Set to open in August 2025, the Special Needs Dayhab of Whitesboro will offer a place of fellowship where individuals of all ages with special needs can be cared for on weekdays in an environment enriched with art, music, time outdoors, and, above all, stability for both participants and their families.
“We’re not victims. We’re not into feeling sorry for ourselves,” Eric said. “But what I do know to be true is this is an incredibly lonely journey, and we have a great support mechanism in place. But a lot of families with these special needs kids and adults do not have that.”
Having a consistent support system is important not only for families, but for individuals with special needs themselves.
“When our Solomon is able to be in the presence of other teenagers or other young adults, he lights up,” Eric said. “He feels like he has his own school, he feels like he has his own activities and it also gets him out of his comfort level. They don’t have to sit at home and do the same thing every single day. This stretches them socially, it stretches them intellectually and it stretches them emotionally and teaches them how to interact in situations that they just can’t get every single day doing the same thing over and over.”
The Special Needs Dayhab of Whitesboro will operate under two main objectives: to let families of individuals with special needs know they’re not alone, and to help those outside the special needs community understand how they can create a more welcoming and inclusive environment for those who are part of it.
“As much as our special needs population has to benefit from this, those of us who’ve encountered our special needs population recognize that we’re the great beneficiaries of this,” Eric said. “I think God Himself inhabits the presence of the special needs population, and they change us for the better. You can’t be around them and not be impacted and changed for the better.”
Raised alongside his twin brother, Isaac, and sister, Carolina Grace, Solomon has taught his family lessons in his lifetime that many wouldn’t be fortunate enough to learn in 10 lifetimes.
“The thing that Solomon has taught us is that we’re all broken,” Eric said. “You see Solomon’s special need within 15 seconds. When you walk up to Solomon, you recognize immediately that he’s not what we would call normal by the definition of normal. And so there’s a brokenness there. But what we begin to recognize is that I’m also broken and everyone that we know is broken. We all have special needs, and we just need somebody to love us.”
There is no one-size-fits-all definition of struggle. It comes in many forms, whether or not it involves a cognitive disability. However, one thing should always remain consistent: the open lens through which we view others’ challenges in life.
“Often we’re quick to pass judgment or condemn people who are experiencing difficulty in their life,” Eric said. “But these special needs adults and kids teach us just to accept people where they’re at, and not where we want them to be.”
While the Littletons have a united front, not all families are so fortunate, no matter the minority represented in their home.
“Our journey has caused me to wonder what it must be like to be the parent of a child who isn’t always welcome,” Eric said. “What must it be like to be the parent of a kid who speaks a different language, who has a different religion, who has a different socioeconomic status, who looks different, who smells different, who dresses differently? We need more things that can unite us. And I believe that the special needs community of Whitesboro could be the catalyst for that.”
Getting the Whitesboro community involved in the dayhab will play a crucial role in outreach efforts, for both individuals with special needs and those without.
“I’ve only been in Whitesboro for a year, but Whitesboro is a really special, a really unique place,” Eric said. “All the other dayhabs that we’ve talked to said it’s virtually impossible to get the community involved. But I really think that we’re sitting on a gold mine at Whitesboro in terms of our community. I think our community is going to embrace this, volunteer and raise its hand.”
Since Eric and Marci still teach at Whitesboro High School during the day, the Special Needs Dayhab of Whitesboro will have a paid program director to oversee daily operations. However, volunteers will still be needed, whether to provide equipment, lead excursions, offer expertise or simply donate time.
“I had an 80-year-old woman who was, for all practical purposes, wheelchair-bound who reached up and took my hand and said, ‘I can’t do much, but I can watch these young people. What day can I come to your facility and just guard the door and love them?’” Eric said. “Everyone has something to offer, whether they know it or not.”
But behind every potential helping hand is the heart that first gave it a reason to reach out: Solomon.
“Every single day, Solomon reminds us of the power of unconditional love, unconditional grace and unconditional acceptance,” Eric said. “And I think the greatest thing that Solomon has taught us is we are the family to be running into the dumpster fire of somebody’s life that is falling apart while everybody else is running away from them.”
And through the Special Needs Dayhab of Whitesboro, the Littletons won’t just run toward a blazing fire – they’ll offer those people an extended family in the process.
Plans are still being finalized this week. For more information on the Special Needs Dayhab of Whitesboro—including its location, volunteer opportunities and enrollment details—visit specialneedsdayhab.com.
