Parenting Special Needs Kids
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As the parent of a special needs child:
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Do you feel isolated and alone?
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Are you continually tired?
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Are you upset by other parents lack of understanding?
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Do you worry about not being able to protect your child?
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Are you frustrated from a lack of resources?
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Do you feel overwhelmed by all of the requirements of your child's special needs?
Raising a child with any disorder, condition or special need, is both a blessing and a challenge. A challenge for the obvious reasons, and a blessing because you don’t know the depths of victory and joy until you see your child overcoming some of those challenges (sometimes while smiling like a goofy bear).
Why participate in group therapy or individual counseling for parenting a special needs child?
If you are a parent of a child with special needs, you undoubtedly have bigger challenges to overcome than you ever thought possible. There may be days where you feel all alone in your struggle. Maybe you've been so busy taking care of your child's needs, in addition to the rest of your family, that you have not had the opportunity to seek encouragement from those who have trekked a similar road. Whether you're raising a child with various physical, developmental or emotional challenges, Cartersville Counseling & Therapy wants to offer you hope, encouragement and the resources that will make your life and your family's lives a little bit easier.
Learn how you can best help your special child.
Thousands of children each year are diagnosed with various disabilities. Parents who have children with special needs know that education begins at home. Special kids need parents who have the skills to advocate for them. Some of the things that you can do for your special child are:
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Make sure your child is properly diagnosed. Most often a specialist will need to assess your child several times, in various locations and with different people.
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Be informed of the various types of disabilities that could be affecting your child and the qualification of the specialist who is doing the testing.
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Look for the signs of the different types of disabilities:
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Mental retardation: slower development
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Speech and Language: expression and comprehension impairments
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Physical Disabilities: visual, motor problems or other conditions
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Emotional Disabilities: behavior and social difficulties
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Learning Disabilities: sense and message distortions
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Don't wait too long. Some parents think their children will grow out of these debilitating conditions and put off diagnosis and treatment. This could be a fatal educational mistake for your child. For children 2 & under, you may want to wait until they are in preschool.
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Attend parenting classes that help you establish a basic timetable to monitor your children's developmental achievements and needs.
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Help your child learn long before school becomes a battleground.
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Learning sign language at an early age may help some children improve their speech and learning disabilities over time.
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Be sure to take time to play and read with your children each day even if it's just for a few minutes.
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Recognize and monitor the signals that tell you something is wrong. Parents should have a basic understanding of age-appropriate developmental milestones (Mental, Verbal, Social/Emotional and Physical).
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Share all the information with the professionals who are working with your child. Clear and specific records could increase the accuracy of your child's diagnosis.
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Don't waste time blaming yourself or others. Your child needs your undivided attention. Focus on solutions, and not just the problems.
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Know the laws that protect your child's educational rights. Contact state agencies such as the school board, state government, support agencies.