On the Coast – Families Issue 96 I October/November 2019 | Page 16

Special
needs
parenting
by Laura Kiln
PgDip (CBT) (Child & Adolescence),
BSc (Hons) CMHN
W
ith over 35 years of experience of working with
families with children with developmental
disorders, from global developmental delay to A.S.D. and
A.D.H.D. I do understand the implications for changing
the family life you thought you had planned out, to
the reality of having a child with additional needs.
My son was diagnosed with A.D.H.D.,
learning needs (Dyslexia) and O.D.D.
when he was about 8 years old. He is my
3rd of 4 children. It was extremely
exhausting, attending therapy to help
with the learning issues and changing
his behaviour, using behaviour
modification techniques. There was a lot
of sibling rivalry!
As special needs parents, you
understand the importance of date
nights with your partner. They help you
reconnect as a couple, reduce stress and
nurture the love between two people
whose children drain their physical,
emotional and mental resources on a
daily basis.
Let’s face it, special needs parenting
involves being caretakers on levels
parents of neurotypical children will
never be able to fully grasp.
However what about the siblings of
kids on the autism spectrum? You know
the ones who either gets dragged to
every therapy and doctor’s appointment
for their sibling/s.
At Laura’s Place I see this lot and
am in constant admiration for parents
and the siblings on a roundabout of
appointments.
I know that we have lots to do in
the acreage that surrounds us, animals,
swings, trees to climb, however if the
sibling is having intensive intervention,
then the family are attending more than
once a week.
Additionally, you as parents,
inadvertently place demands on them
that, while not always necessarily fair,
Boost literacy skills!
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NSW 2259
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1 Bridge Avenue
Chain Valley Bay
4358 3155
16
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