WATCH: How Candy Pangilinan overcomes challenges as single mom of child with special needs

MANILA, Philippines — What keeps you going despite the ongoing pandemic and the recent typhoons that rummaged the country?

For actress Candy Pangilinan, what makes her smile amid challenges is her 16-year-old son.

Although Candy is a single mom to Quentin, who has Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD), she continues to challenge the stigma of being a parent to a child with special needs by writing the book “Mommy Dear: Our Special Love.” 

The book details her journey on overcoming her fears and dealing with her son’s condition.

“I wrote a book on single love to erase the stigma of single parenting and to encourage people to respect kids with neurological challenges,” Candy shared at the recent “Smile Strong” Facebook live video campaign organized by dental care brand Colgate.

For her strength and courage, Candy has been named as one of the campaign’s “muses.”

“While a lot of Filipinos may just smile their troubles away, there are those who silently do what they can, with the circumstances they are dealt with, to make their lives, and lives of other people better. And they do all of these with a smile!” said Ari Mandelbaum, Marketing Director of Colgate-Palmolive Philippines. 

”(The muses) live the spirit of Optimism in Action every day, each with their own unique stories and struggles, but manage to rise above their challenges to serve as inspiration to society in their own ways.” 

Candy assured other parents, special single ones like her, that being a parent to a kid with special needs is “not the end of the world.”

“Yes, there are struggles in time management, resources, but the truth is you can actually do anything,” she affirmed.

“I experience prejudice, but what keeps me optimistic is my desire to move forward for my child, focus on our strengths. Every development he experiences gives us strength. The more they reject and neglect, the more they inspire us to move on and move forward.”