Advice On Raising A Child With Special Needs.

posted on 09/16/2009

When you start a family most couples start out dreaming about all of the things they are going to do and teach their child. How to crawl, walk, talk, ride a bike, place a favorite sport, first days of school, all of these things are part of the wonderful world of raising a child. But what do you do when your child is born and the doctor comes to you and tells you there is something wrong with your baby, they can't see or hear, they have no control over their motor functions and will probably never walk. At times like this you realize that your life can change in an instant. Millions of new thoughts fly into your head, how will he be able to do all of the wonderful things that you had planned out, how will they make friends, or take care of themselves when they get older. I can tell you the first step is to look to God, the second is to look at your child and to remember that they are a miracle no matter what.

When you have a child with special needs, the very best resource, support and friend you can have is God. Every day I find myself thanking him and asking for his guidance on how to deal with the day ahead. You will quickly find out that all you can do is to take each day one hour at a time, no matter how much seems to be piling up around you or seems to be going wrong take it one step at a time. The next thing I can tell you is that you should never underestimate the power of having people that love you and want to help you in your life. Reach out to those people and do not be to afraid or proud to ask for help. Also, start doing research on what ever condition it is that your child has, there are so many resources available in different states to help families with special needs children, not just financially, but emotionally as well. The last bit of advise I can give is to enjoy your child, treat them as normal as possible, take them to the park, a ball game or just out for a play date. Just find some little way to connect with them as children and never forget that no matter how many doctor appointments or specialist or therapist that they need to see, you are their favorite person in the entire world.