Special Needs Parenting: From Coping to Thriving offers emotional and spiritual resources for the journey of special needs parenting. Sharing personal insights as a theologian and the parent of an adult son with special needs, Rev. Dr. Lorna Bradley offers seven encouraging and practical tools to help the reader: o gain a deeper, grace-filled understanding of God's presenceo process deeply held feelings of grief and guilto discover strategies for patience, self-care, and healthy relationshipso find hope and healingPowerful for the individual reader, the built-in reflection and discussion questions make Special Needs Parenting an ideal, real-life resource for small groups. Special Needs Parenting is a must read for family members, pastors, and any person who works with special needs families. Dr. Bradley explores their challenges, grief, and joy with deep sensitivity, theological depth, and practical advice. A blessing to all who read it and allow their lives to be touched by wisdom born of personal experience and biblical scholarship
Decades of research have demonstrated that the parent-child dyad and the environment of the familyâ€"which includes all primary caregiversâ€"are at the foundation of children's well- being and healthy development. From birth, children are learning and rely on parents and the other caregivers in their lives to protect and care for them. The impact of parents may never be greater than during the earliest years of life, when a child's brain is rapidly developing and when nearly all of her or his experiences are created and shaped by parents and the family environment. Parents help children build and refine their knowledge and skills, charting a trajectory for their health and well-being during childhood and beyond. The experience of parenting also impacts parents themselves. For instance, parenting can enrich and give focus to parents' lives; generate stress or calm; and create any number of emotions, including feelings of happiness, sadness, fulfillment, and anger. Parenting of young children today takes place in the context of significant ongoing developments. These include: a rapidly growing body of science on early childhood, increases in funding for programs and services for families, changing demographics of the U.S. population, and greater diversity of family structure. Additionally, parenting is increasingly being shaped by technology and increased access to information about parenting. Parenting Matters identifies parenting knowledge, attitudes, and practices associated with positive developmental outcomes in children ages 0-8; universal/preventive and targeted strategies used in a variety of settings that have been effective with parents of young children and that support the identified knowledge, attitudes, and practices; and barriers to and facilitators for parents' use of practices that lead to healthy child outcomes as well as their participation in effective programs and services. This report makes recommendations directed at an array of stakeholders, for promoting the wide-scale adoption of effective programs and services for parents and on areas that warrant further research to inform policy and practice. It is meant to serve as a roadmap for the future of parenting policy, research, and practice in the United States.
Parents of children with special needs face unique emotional and practical challenges that are seldom addressed by the medical community. In Special Kids Need Special Parents, Judith Loseff Lavin -- herself the parent of a child with special needs -- draws on interviews with health care professionals, nationally recognized authorities, and other parents to give readers the answers, advice, and comfort they crave.-- Coping with chronic pain, sleep problems, and frequent hospitalizations -- Dealing with feelings of grief and anger -- Choosing a therapist -- Finding suitable, reliable childcare -- How to cope with teasing -- The impact a special needs child can have on a marriage, siblings, and grandparents -- Finding cosmetic, prosthetic, and orthotic help -- and more.
Happier lives. Less stress. Family harmony. That's what all parents of children with challenging behavior want. Learn how to get there with this groundbreaking guide to confident, skillful, and positive parenting. A book you'll want to share with every family you know, Optimistic Parenting helps moms, dads, and other caregivers develop more positive thoughts and perceptions--a key ingredient of successful parenting and effective behavior management. One of the most highly regarded experts on challenging behavior--and a parent himself--Dr. V. Mark Durand delivers both philosophical hope and practical help to parents of children with a wide range of challenges. With keen insight, gentle humor, and practical tools and strategies, Durand guides parents step by step through the process of pinpointing the "why" behind challenging behavior tuning in to their own thoughts, emotions, and self-talk understanding how their thoughts affect their interactions with their child interrupting negative thoughts and replacing them with positive, productive ones achieving a healthy balance between taking care of their own needs and their child's needs using effective emergency strategies when quick behavior intervention is needed implementing long-term strategies for lasting behavior improvements weaving functional communication training into everyday routines and interactions addressing the most common problem areas, such as sleep and transitions increasing mindfulness and parenting "in the moment" Engaging stories from the author's extensive experience illustrate how parents and other caregivers can develop more effective behavior management techniques. And practical tools and exercises, developed and tested during Durand's decades of work with thousands of parents, help families on their own journey to better parenting and happier lives. A lifeline for overwhelmed parents--and a great source of insight for the professionals who work with them--this highly motivating guidebook will help families reduce children's challenging behaviors and approach the future with optimism and confidence.
Sometimes life throws you a curveball. Andrew and Rachel Wilson know what it means to live a life they never expected. As the parents of two children with special needs, their story mingles deep pain with deep joy in unexpected places. With raw honesty, they share about the challenges they face on a daily basis—all the while teaching what it means to weep, worship, wait, and hope in the Lord. Offering encouragement rooted in God's Word, this book will help you cling to Jesus and fight for joy when faced with a life you never expected.
Move beyond conflict to true collaboration with difficult parents of children with special needs by understanding their perspectives and using appropriate methods to address their concerns!
AUTHORS’ DISCLAIMER: We are not in any way experts on parenting children with disabilities. Our goal is simply to share strategies that have worked for each of us in the event it may help those in a similar situation. If you’re different from us (i.e., you are bright or of the perfect persuasion), we advise you not to try the following at home. On a “perfection-preoccupied planet,” sisters Gina and Patty dare to speak up about the frustrations, sadness, and stigmas they face as parents of children with disabilities (one with Asperger’s syndrome, the other with bipolar disorder). This refreshingly frank book, which will alternately make you want to tear your hair out and laugh your head off, should be required reading for parents of disabled children. Shut Up About Your Perfect Kid provides wise and funny advice about how to: • Find a support group—either online or in your community • Ensure that your child gets the right in-school support • Deal with people—be they friends, family members, or strangers—who say or do insensitive things to you or your child • Find fun, safe, and inclusive extracurricular activities for your child • Battle your own grief and seek professional help if you need it • Keep the rest of the family intact in moments of crisis
Raising a child with a disability can often be more isolating and frustrating than any parent ever imagines. Finally, here is a book that honestly describes the inner needs and range of issues parents with disabled children face. Changed by a Child invites parents to take a moment for themselves. Each of the brief readings offers comfort and hope as they capture the unique challenges and joys of raising a disabled child.
When his oldest son was diagnosed with severe autism, pastor Jason Hague found himself trapped, stuck between perpetual sadness and a lower, safer kind of hope. This is the common struggle for those of us walking through the Land of Unanswered Prayer. Life doesn’t look the way we expected, so we seek to protect ourselves from further disappointment. But God has a third path for us, beyond sadness or resignation: the way of aching joy. Christ himself is with us here, beckoning us toward the treasures hidden in the darkness. Aching Joy is an honest psalm of hope for those walking between pain and promise: the aching of a broken world and the beauty of a loving God. In this place, rather than trying to dodge the pain, we choose to feel it all—and to see where Jesus is in the midst of struggle. And because we make that choice, we feel all the good that comes with it, too. This is Jason’s story. This is your story. Come, find your joy within the aching.
