Growing up is never easy for any parent, and Denise Richards is no exception.
The actress and reality-TV star, whose daughter Eloise is disabled, opened up about her parenting challenges in an Instagram post Sunday, May 24, which coincided with the teen’s 15th birthday.
Richards, who shares daughters Sami and Lola Sheen with ex-husband and fellow actor Charlie Sheen, adopted Eloise Joni in a domestic adoption while she was single in June 2011. The child’s middle name is a tribute to Richards’ deceased mother, who died of cancer in 2007.
“I can’t believe 15 [years] old already,” Richards, 55, wrote alongside a compilation video of Eloise. “Having a special-needs child in a lot of ways gets more challenging, with me worrying more about her future the older she gets.”
Denise Richards, right, poses with daughter Eloise Joni Richards, center, and estranged husband Aaron Phypers at the 91st anniversary of the Hollywood Christmas Parade on Nov. 26, 2023.
Eloise has the condition Monosomy 8p, a rare chromosomal disorder that is caused by deletion, or monosomy, of a portion of the eighth chromosome, according to the National Organization for Rare Disorders. While symptoms can vary, common characteristics of the disorder include growth deficiency, intellectual disability, malformations of the skull and facial region, and heart abnormalities.
Richards revealed her daughter’s diagnosis in a 2019 interview with People magazine when Eloise was 7 years old. “She wasn’t able to sit up on her own for a very long time, and she didn’t start walking until she was 2, and that was with physical therapy,” Richards told the magazine at the time.
The “Wild Things” star told People that the chromosomal disorder had caused Eloise “a lot of developmental delays,” adding that her daughter could only say a “handful of words.”
“There are times when she feels like her age in understanding, and then other times where it feels she’s emotionally 3 years old,” Richards said. “It’s been challenging. I’m learning every day because they don’t really have a road map for her particular case.”
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In her Instagram post Sunday, Richards paid tribute to Eloise’s resilience amid her health struggles.
“My mom always had said, a special-needs child is an angel from God and Eloise is the biggest angel with the biggest selfless heart,” Richards wrote. “I’m so proud of her strength and kindness. I’m so grateful for her older sisters, my friends who are my family and my dad, who is the best grandpa [and] father figure for Eloise.”
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Richards got candid on her family life with Eloise in an interview with People magazine last February. The actress said that while her daughter is “primarily considered nonverbal,” she is “very observant [and] understands everything.”
“Sometimes when the girls go at each other, she just raises her eyebrows and then they laugh and can get past whatever stupid thing they’re fighting about,” Richards said.
Contributing: Sonja Haller, USA TODAY
This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: Denise Richards talks challenges with ‘special-needs’ daughter Eloise
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