Most new parents have a vision of what their child will “be” like. It's rarely a vision that includes anything out of the “ordinary.”

When a child at any age comes out to a parent, he or she has had many years to think about it; parents do not.

And no matter how open-minded parents believe themselves to be, this new reality is one that will take their lives on a different course.

Whether they feel shock, pain, confusion or disgust, each parent processes it differently. Enter Spectrum, the LGBT advocacy and counseling group that has just started a support group for parents, a group that was a long time coming and safe place where parents can “exhale,” program director Cristin Brew tells here reporter John Dugan in this week's Covered.

LGBT issues continue to dominate the news, from the debate over same-sex marriage to the military's “don't ask, don't tell” policy, but every day LGBT issues happen on a very personal level with a brave statement — “Mom, Dad, I'm gay.”

We all could benefit from Spectrum's message of understanding, compassion, acceptance and inclusion.

— Vicki Larson, here editor