My Garden of Thoughts: Reflection #18- Families with Parents or Children Who Have Special Needs

 

https://ct.counseling.org/2015/09/retaining-family-focus/

    Though important, the topic centering around children or parents with developmental delays or impairments is often not discussed frequently enough. This leads to miscommunication, lack of education, and stigmas that can further inhibit people with exceptionalities from living a normal life. In chapter 11 of the textbook, they focused on different categories of special needs that children experience, ranging from cognitive, learning, sensory, and physical impairments. The one category that stuck out to me the most was learning disabilities. At my job in a counseling/psychiatry office, this is a common issues in the patients that are seen by our providers. Parents bring their young children in, citing concerns about their ability to pay attention in class or their lack of response to interaction with other people. These developmental signs often point to LDs like ADHD or Autism that need to be diagnosed and addressed. I think it's important to discuss the symptoms that accompany these types of LDs because parents sometimes want to diagnose their kids when they kids are actually exhibiting normal behaviors that are simply not being controlled correctly by parental discipline. I always hope that healthcare professionals who work with children who are brought in by their parents are carefully being screened to make sure they truly do have a LD and are not being brought in to get put on medication so the parents don't have to put in the hard work of parenting their child. Medicating a child should not be taken lightly or used as a quick fix.

    This chapter also does a good job at explaining how exceptionalities in parents can place unique stressors or challenges on families. If a parent is deaf or blind, it could also open up their children to other communities they might not have been a part of before. There are positive benefits for infants who have blind parent, in which they are able to communicate better and are considered to be similar to infants who grow up in bilingual homes. Adolescents who are raised in a home where a parent is deaf are said to actually have better social peer related relationships than teenagers who live in a home where neither parent has a hearing impairment. However, a parent who has a health condition regardless of what it is does place extra strain on the family unit. More doctor visits have to be scheduled and children may be forced to mature faster in order to help with taking care of their parent who might not be competent in certain areas. 

Overall, it is essential to note that while impairments or disabilities can cause many set backs in one's life, it doesn't mean they can't have a full, quality life. More and more, society and educational literature works harder to end stigmas surrounding disabilities and make sure these groups are recognized and celebrated for the amazing talents and skills they have. As parent educators, we should do our best to educate parents on how to work through the tumultuous feelings they may experience after finding out about their child's disabilities and help them get connected to resources that will benefit them the most.

- E.