Posts Tagged cerebral palsy. birth injury
How to Identify and Cope with Internal Stress While Parenting a Special Needs Child
Posted by George Passwater in Family Life on January 2, 2010
Do you have stress in your life? Sure, we all do.
As the parent of a special needs child, I know there are unique stressors that weigh on you on a daily basis.
Internal Stressors
In a previous post, I talked about external stressors for parents of special needs children – but what about the internal stressors?
Internal stressors are those that come from the inside in the form of thoughts and feelings. Learning how to identify these stressors will help you to cope with them.
Some Top Internal Stressors
- I should be with my children all the time – We all want to spend time with our children; we need them and they need us. Parenting special needs children requires more time and effort from us. It is common to feel that we should to be with them all the time.This is one of the biggest internal stressors for parents of special need children.
- Are you doing everything right? – “Am I doing everything right?”
“Am I doing everything I should be for my child?”These are thoughts for many of us. This internal stressor builds up and will take over your thoughts if you let it.
- Taking time for yourself – Do you dedicate yourself to only providing for your children and not taking any time for yourself? This is a very common occurrence for many parents and especially for parents of special needs children. If this internal stressor is not controlled, it can lead to external stressors for you as well.
- I should be the only one to care for my children – Caring for your children is your job and you don’t want anyone else to take that from you. What do you do if can’t be there all the time?
Ways to Cope With Internal Stressors
- Changes Happen – Embrace change in yourself and your children. Moods, and feelings will change. It is natural to not always be where your children are. Being there when it counts is most important.
- Don’t Beat Yourself Up – We all make mistakes; no one parent is perfect. Don’t let thoughts of “what could’ve” or “should I” rule your head. Take control and do what needs to be done for your child.
- You Deserve a Break – Don’t feel bad if you take a small break; you deserve some kind of time for yourself too. A small break, even of 10 minutes, can do wonders for you and for your caring of your child.
- Ask For Help – In a previous post, 3 Ways to Educate Your Family to Help You, I outlined ways to get your family to help out with caring for your special needs child. Even though you may want to do it all, everyone needs help sometime. Get those that you trust to help you with caring for your child.
Wrap It Up
Stress is something we all deal with everyday. Raising a special needs child creates more stress for us as parents. Learning how to cope with the internal stressors of this special type of parenting takes time and self-change.
By taking charge of the stressors in you, you will take charge of the stressors on the outside as well.
LikeStudents Foster Fitness, Fun with Sports
Posted by Lauren Fritsky in Current Events, Education and Socialization, Family Life, Therapy and Treatments on December 18, 2009
This holiday season, athletes are teaming up with students with disabilities for some cheer and even a little friendly competition.
In Springfield, MO, a program called Champions Committed to Kids is inviting professional sports teams as well as those from local universities and high schools to play with children with illnesses such as cerebral palsy. The children are patients at Cox and St. John’s hospitals, which are running the program. The teams plan to involve the children in their activities and pay visits to them and their families for a whole season. The hospitals will select the children who participate, many of whom wouldn’t normally have the opportunity to play sports.
In Rutland, VT, a bowling alley recently held the annual Special Olympics Vermont sporting event called School-based Unified Team Bowling, which joins students with disabilities with nondisabled students. The program hopes to connect athletes of all abilities and has seen an increase in participation of 58 percent from last year, according to a Special Olympics official. Bowling is just one of 11 activities offered through Special Olympics’ Unified Sports, which runs five annual tournaments with students from 18 schools.
Therapists say sports can help children with disabilities in a variety of ways. “Sports and recreation is rehab at its best. Kids focus on their abilities, not their disabilities,” said inclusion recreation specialist Andy Chasanoff, MA, CTRS, in an article in ADVANCE for Physical Therapists. Participation in sports and recreation programs can also improve physical and psychological health and confidence and give children a chance to socialize.
Device Helps Children with CP Find their Voice
Posted by Sean at Sokolove Law in Therapy and Treatments on June 17, 2009
A new device has been developed that helps cerebral palsy patients struggling to speak find their voice. The device is called VitalStim and it is a small electrical current that contracts facial muscles in order to strengthen them. Patients use the VitalStim device three times a week for about an hour, in combination with speech therapy. “The more we can eat and swallow and practice that movement while we’ve got those electrodes on, the better results you’ll see,” Polly Bohannon, M.S., C.C.C.-S.L.P., a speech language pathologist at Tallahassee Memorial Healthcare in Tallahassee, Florida.
For Jude Countryman and his family, they have already noticed the benefits of VitalStim. Jude has cerebral palsy and during his birth his umbilical cord was wrapped around his neck, damaging nerves that control his mouth and tongue. His parents couldn’t be happier with Jude’s progress and even a little progress means everything. “I realized when he was talking at one point that something was different about his face, and I couldn’t quite figure out what it was at first, but then I realized his upper lip was moving when he was talking,” said Jude’s mother, Erin Belieu. “I was just like, ‘Wow!’” VitalStim is FDA-approved to use on kids and infants.
Virtual Reality Device Improves Walking for People with CP
Posted by Sean at Sokolove Law in Current Events, Research on May 19, 2009
A new virtual reality device may prove to be an effective therapy for people with cerebral palsy. The virtual reality device, named the GaitAid Virtual Walker, can help people with cerebral palsy to improve their balance and potentially walk normally again. A virtual reality is a realistic simulation of an environment, including three-dimensional graphics, by a computer system using interactive software and hardware.
The GaitAid Virtual Walker was developed by MIT-educated Computer Science Professor Yoram Baram, PhD. The device consists of a cell-phone-size, lightweight control unit and a set of comfortable high-tech goggles that provide sensory feedback of visual images and sounds in response to the patient’s movements. The device is worn for practice-walking just 20-30 minutes a day. The GaitAid improves walking (sometimes from the first step) and “rewires” the wearer’s brain to follow a healthier walking pattern–an effect that often continues even when it isn’t being worn.
Clinical studies involving children and young adults with cerebal palsy have shown that 80% of patients experienced an improvement in stride length and walking speed after only ten minutes of walking with the GaitAid. Moreover, participants reported an improved feeling of balance and confidence in walking.
UNH Therapeutic Horse Riding Program to Remain Open While Under Review
Posted by Josh at Sokolove Law in Therapy and Treatments on May 6, 2009
At The University of New Hampshire a horse riding program that is designed to help children with disabilities like cerebral palsy, autism, and down syndrome is in danger of being shut down.
The program has been in operation for 20 years and has been self funded through fees and fundraising, but the decision recently came down to stop the program. No specific reason has been given for the stoppage of the program, but the university has said it has to do with the reshaping of the equine science program.
Luckily the program will continue to operate while it is under review and a suggestion will be made by June 1st on whether or not to continue on with the program or eradicate it from the UNH community.
A number of parents who’s children are involved in the program are devastated that such a great program which impacts children’s lives in such a positive light might be done away with.
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Welcome to the ChildRC blog - a source of information and support for the parents and families of children with birth injuries. Learn More
The Sokolove Law nurse desk is led by Kathy McGinn, R.N., B.S.N., L.N.C.C., a 25-year nursing veteran who has worked in the field of legal nurse consulting since 1990. From early on in her career, Kathy was passionate about making patient advocacy the core of her nursing practice. She has been instrumental in cultivating a strong and knowledgeable team of nurses, each with a genuine desire to make a difference in the lives of others.