by BlondieWrites on April 18, 2010
Adopting a Child With Special Needs
There are many children out there that have special needs. As a result it does make it harder for them to be placed in an adoptive home. While every parent does wish for a healthy child both physically and mentally, taking care of such a child can be an extremely rewarding experience. There have been heartbreaking stories of couples that give a child up for adoption due to it being born with some type of special need. There are also adoptive parents that refuse to take home a child that isn’t healthy in all ways.
If you decide you are willing to adopt a child with special needs, you will need to evaluate what you are willing to take on. There are many different types of physical and mental disabilities that a child can have. There is also the factor of paying for their treatment and the time it will take to properly care for such a child. This isn’t a role that is right for everyone. You definitely need to make sure you know what you are getting yourself involved with.
Due to the nature of care for children with special needs, the majority of them are placed with the Department of Human Services. Contact them to express your interest in adopting a special needs child. They will likely require you to complete a variety of forms as well as classes. They want to be sure you will have the necessary skills for caring for a particular child. They may require you to take that special needs child into your home for a set period of time under foster care.
You will work with a social worker that comes in regularly to evaluate the situation and to provide support. Should things be going well and you do want to continue with the adoption process they can help you with it. Depending on the laws in that state you may be eligible for assistance when you adopt a special needs child. This is generally offered in the way of medical assistance to be sure their needs in that area doesn’t become a burden that you can’t meet financially.
This is also important as the extent of the special needs for the child may not be fully realized yet. The younger a child is the higher the risk is that there will be additional needs that are diagnosed later on. This is something you definitely need to be aware of if you are considering adopting a child with special needs.
You can also choose to adopt a child with special needs through private adoption. This can be more complex though and you won’t have ongoing support as you will through the Department of Human Services. However, if you have a great attorney on your side you can get the representation that you will need.
Many people that wish to adopt realize there are plenty of special needs children out there that need a loving home. They are willing to offer it even though they realize it will be a challenge. Yet it will also be a very rewarding experience and it can help them to get a child into their home in less time. If you feel this is something you would like to do, then find out more about it. Too many children with special needs never get adopted, and you can make sure at least one of them does.
by BlondieWrites on September 12, 2009
ADHD and What Moms Need to Know
ADHD and What Moms Need to Know offers Everything Moms Need To Know About Successfully Parenting ADHD Students”…Even If You Only Suspect Your Child May Have ADHD.
ADHD And What Moms Need To Know has broken it all down into:
Common problems for parents of ADHD kids – and solutions that other moms say work best
How to get the most out of your health care professionals – by knowing exactly where they’re coming from
The pitfalls of micro-managing your child – and how to stop doing it
How to become your child’s best advocate – even if you’ve never done it before and don’t know where to start
Where to go for help – and how to get it
6 classroom strategies designed to set you and your child up for success
6 common sense, easy parenting tips proven to work when parenting ADHD children
and much more!
ADHD And What Moms Need To Know deals with everyday problems that parents of ADHD kids have to face.
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by BlondieWrites on September 12, 2009
With all the recent publicity of Autism in the news you might be wondering what are the signs of Autism. Here are a list of signs that can be associated to Autism. If you see these signs in your child speak to their doctor about having them evaluated. The sooner that Autism is discovered the better the chances are at treating it.
1. Does not reach developmental milestones on time. Each child develops differently. Some children will crawl at four months while others will not until they are several months older. This can be perfectly normal. The problem starts when every milestone is much later than usual. If your child is not meeting the developmental stages talk with their doctor.
2. Child does not talk. Children learn to talk at different ages. Some will start talking very young while others will just start blurting out whole sentences one day. This can be very normal. However if your child does not have any babbling type talk by the age of one this could be a cause for concern. Most children will says some words by the time they are sixteen months. If your child is not ask their doctor if they think an evaluation is necessary.
3. No eye contact. Most babies and children will look at you when you are talking to them. Autistic children will often not give you eye contact. It will appear they are looking off into a daze instead of paying attention to you. They will not point to objects. They will not look at something you are trying to show them. Instead they look past it.
4. Child does not show emotion. Autistic children often do not show any emotion. They do not smile back when a person smiles at them. They do not show any cares when someone around them is expressing pain, or crying. The Autistic child does not usually like to be held or cuddled. They will not reach up for their parents to hold them.
5. Likes to play by their self. The Autistic child usually will play alone. They feel more comfortable being by them self. They have a hard time making friends. They do not know how to relate to other kids. They do not understand when another child is joking with them. They take everything said to them literally.
6. The child loses skills the knew. The child may have learned to talk and then it seems as if they forgot how. They can learn a new skill and then a week later have no idea how to do it. Autistic children often lose skills they have learned.
These are just a few of the signs of Autism. If you notice any of them in your children talk to their doctor. All children with Autism will not have every sign. Getting them diagnosed as soon as possible will allow treatment to begin sooner. Getting your child evaluated as soon as you suspect a problem is very important. Even if there is nothing wrong it is better to be safe. The earlier treatment can be started the better for the child.
by BlondieWrites on September 12, 2009
Receiving a diagnosis of Autism can seem overwhelming. You may be left with a lot of unanswered questions about the diagnosis. You might be thinking the diagnosis is wrong. This cannot be happening to your child. There are different feelings and emotions you will experience when dealing with a diagnosis of Autism. Here are some of the ways you might be feeling, and ways to come to terms with the diagnosis.
Denial
Denial is a common feeling when dealing with any medical problem. Sometimes it is easier to deny that there is even a problem. Some parents do not want to consider that there could be something wrong with their child. So they pretend like there is nothing wrong. The doctor was wrong, their child is perfectly normal. Being in denial about the diagnosis will not help anything. The sooner that you accept that your child is Autistic the better both of you will be. The condition will not go away if you ignore it. Accepting the diagnosis and moving on will be a huge step for you as a parent to take. The quicker this is done the sooner you can start looking into treatment options.
Anger
Anger is one of the emotions you might feel when you get a diagnosis of Autism. You might be angry with yourself, or angry with God. Why is your child Autistic. You might be angry with other parents that have healthy children. This is a normal feeling to experience. Remember while you are feeling angry to think of all the great things about your child. Share your feelings with others. Keeping anger bottled up can be a bad thing.
Grief
Sometimes when a parent gets a diagnosis of Autism they go though a grieving period. They are sad that their child has something wrong with them. They may be feeling sad that the dreams they had for their child may have to change. They might be sad over the way the world will treat their child, and the hardships they will face. Grief is a normal emotion to go through. The key is to get through the grief, and on to the acceptance. Try not to look at the things that are wrong. There will have to be some adjustments made to your plans for your child’s future. That is what life is all about , change. If you find yourself unable to move past the grieving stage you might need to talk to someone. It might help having a few therapy sessions to deal with the feelings you are experiencing.
Acceptance
Finally coming to terms with the diagnosis of Autism can take awhile. Some people are just glad to have an answer to what is wrong with their child. Others have a hard time accepting their child is different from other kids. Eventually you will accept that your child is different, and that is okay. Once you have accepted the diagnosis of Autism you can start to help your child. Do all the research you can on Autism. Think about how hard it is for your child. They need you to be behind them in their treatments one hundred percent. The first step to doing this is acceptance.
by BlondieWrites on June 28, 2008
Anyone that parents a special needs child knows the stress that usually accompanies the parenting of the child. The stress level can sky rocket, and if you don’t have some backup help and/or respite care for yourself also, the stress level can become overwhelming.
There are no easy answers on how to raise a child with special needs. Every child is different, as is every parent in their parenting methods. But the stress level is invariably there. Handling the stress is necessary in order to provide good care not only for your child, but for yourself and the rest of the family as well.
The main thing a parent with a special needs child needs to know is that they are not alone. There is help out there! Even if you are a single mom raising a child or children alone, there is help. It’s up to the parent however to realize that it’s not a sign of failure as a parent to need and accept help in caring for your special needs child.
A special needs child that also has sever anger issues can send a parent’s stress level shooting through the roof. Discipline for a special needs child is often very different than the way you would discipline a child without special needs. So a parent is often left feeling helpless and not knowing what to do, and feeling they have no where to turn in getting a break from parenting. In fact, a lot of parents actually feel guilty for even wanting a break, let alone taking one. The idea of a few hours away from their child makes them feel as though they are failing their child as a parent. For some reason, some parents feel that to parent their special needs child, that means being around them and caring for them 24/7 without any outside help.
Parents need to take a break! Hire a competent babysitter, even a nurse if needed, get family to help, ask a friend for help! The point is get out of the house alone or with your spouse for a few hours and enjoy yourself. You cannot change the issues your child may have. You cannot change the fact that the child needs to be cared for and looked after. You cannot do much to change a child that has sever anger issues. You generally cannot stop the stress that is bound to occur from parenting special needs children. But you can get a break, you can get out a few hours a week alone to unwind, and you can get help to allow you to get that much needed break.
Special needs kids are special indeed and we love our kids very much. But we as parents need to be able to unwind and relieve the stress so that we are better able to parent. Never feel guilty for needing to ask for help!
