Parenting

Helping Your Family Deal with Special Needs

A 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.

How to Talk to Your Child About His or Her Special Needs
How do you talk to your child about his or her disability or diagnosis? Start small and follow your child's lead. Here's a how-to to help parents get the conversation going.

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.

20 Things Siblings Would Like Parents and Service Providers to Know
In an excerpt from the book "Sibshops," authors Don Meyer and Patricia Vadasy share what brothers and sisters of childrens of special needs would like parents and service providers to know about their own special needs for independence, information, and individuality.

Special-Needs Children and Special Occasions
Advice on how to make it through family get-togethers and other big events with children with special needs.

Reviews: Books on Family Issues
Browse reviews of parenting books on family issues from the Harried Parent's Book Club.

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