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Helping Your Family Deal with Special NeedsA child with special needs can quickly become the center of family attention, for better or worse. While an intensive focus on therapy and treatment can be good for the child receiving them, they can often leave siblings feeling neglected -- and if one parent is taking on most of the burden or disagrees with the course being followed, strain can show in a marriage as well. The good news is that help and support for individual family members and the family in general is often only a mouse-click away.
Use Photos to Customize Special Needs Tools and Toys
With the popularity of digital photography and the availability of software that helps users easily manipulate those images, parents of children with special needs have lots of fun opportunities to customize the tools and toys their kids need. Try these five ideas for starters. Body Odor Basics for Teens With Special Needs
Most teens worry about smelling bad in front of their peers, but some adolescents with special needs may lack the sensory sensitivity or emotional maturity to notice or care if body odor's a problem. Here are five ways parents can help. How to Make Talking Less Distressing
Different communication and coping styles can keep parents of children with special needs from finding support in one another. In this excerpt from "Married With Special-Needs Children," co-author Laura E. Marshak counsels spouses on how to make themselves, and each other, heard. Request a Work Schedule Change with a Flexibility Proposal
If your current work schedule and your childcare needs don't coincide, think about whether a change in hours would solve your problems. Then use a sample flexibility proposal memo from the book "More Than a Mom" to guide you in making your case to your employer. Picking Up After Packrats
Your child might not let you throw any of that clutter away, but you can at least stow it away where you don't have to wade through it. Teach Your Child to Stay in Bed All Night
If your struggling sleeper always seems to wind up in your room at night, use "The Floppy Sleep Game Book" to help your child relax and sleep all the way through to morning in his or her own bed. 31 Ways to Tell Your Child "I Love You"
Children with special needs may be unable to respond to our declarations of love the way we'd like. Sometimes you can get the message through easier if you show rather than tell, or find fun and disarming ways to sneak your feelings through. Here are 31 ways to start. Summer Family Projects
Summer is a great time to tackle those parenting projects you've been putting off. From toilet training to reading routines to better behavior charts, here are five summer projects to tackle -- and tips on how to triumph. The Impact of a Disabled Child on Your Marriage
Sheri and Bob Stritof, About.com's Guides to Marriage, describe the ways in which having a child with special needs can cause stress in a marriage and what you can do to strengthen yours. Supporting and Empowering Families
Article from KidSourceOnline on the impact of special needs on parents, siblings, grandparents, and other family members. Family Member Support
From Parent to Parent of Georgia, a listing of articles and sites that provide support for specific family members, including siblings, dad and grandparents. Stress on Families
Although this look at how a child with special needs causes stress for various family members is from the Autism Society of America, it's appropriate for other disabilities as well. |
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