Wayne Hower

Does a Disabled Child = a Disabled Family? Wayne Hower

Many people attempt to address issues concerning developmentally disabled children and their families from a purely academic viewpoint. Others have very personal experiences with little or no professional or academic background. Both can be beneficial and provide helpful information, but they both also have potential pitfalls and limitations. The purpose here is to use personal experience along with professional and academic information to help professionals, parents, and siblings in their adjustment to their new journey. The goal is to assist families in ways of achieving balance between taking care of the needs of parents to continue to develop themselves, their relationships, their non-disabled children, and the disabled family member. The ideas presented here are not intended to address specific disabilities. They are to provide perspective and some general helpful ideas that can be implemented regardless of the disability of the child.