Family Needs

Everyone is always talking about what your child needs, but what about the rest of your family?

If you have one or more children with a disability your family life changed long before you ever had a diagnosis. While being a parent carries with it a certain amount of struggles and dynamics, parenting a child with special needs creates a unique situation that requires an extra level of strength, patience, determination, and courage.

You love your child, but at the same time are faced daily with the extra stress, emotion, and energy it requires to be an effective parent. It is easy for families to slip into a constant mode of crisis – just trying to make it from one day to the next.

Struggling with neurodevelopmental disorders can be a burden:

If you feel like the struggles of parenting your child and maintaining a normal family life have gotten the best of you, know that you are not alone. Many families find themselves in the same situation at one point or another.

This sense of hopelessness or crisis can manifest itself in different ways:

• Difficulty balancing the needs of all family members, including siblings without impairments
• Constant feeling of being overwhelmed or frustrated
• Difficulty prioritizing and maintaining structure for all family members
• Uncertainty about the best ways to manage behaviors
• Marital stress and disharmony
• Financial stress related to paying for treatment
• Conflict with extended family members
• Feelings of inadequacy as parents
• A sense of hopelessness about the future

As parents you are only able to help your children when you feel competent and emotionally regulated yourselves.

You need a family life that nurtures EVERYONE:

You can purchase the best treatments in the world, but without the ability to carry through with them and maintain a home environment that allows for everyone’s growth and emotional security, these treatments will be ineffective.

It is critically important for parents to be able to look beyond the child’s disability and create a family life that supports and nurtures everyone, including themselves.

Horizons can help you reclaim your dream family life:

We feel so strongly about this that we help parents and families work on the following as an initial part of the treatment process:

• Understanding their child’s disability, including current research and the core or the disorder rather than surface symptoms
• Developing a balanced treatment plan that meets the needs of the entire family
• Slowing down the pace of life to encourage better decision making and a less stressful environment
• Learning to proactively address problems instead of constantly reacting
• Feeling competent as parents
• Establishing goals that allow for a future focus
• Reclaim the hopes, dreams, and experiences parents dreamed about when they first decided to have children

Related Links:

• CORE Consultation Program
• Read our Family Stories to learn about the experiences of families just like yours

Contact our office to schedule a free 15-minute initial consultation to find out how our programs and services can meet your needs.