Parents want to be able to help their children find success in all areas of life, and for the parents of a child with disabilities, this may require additional approaches and tools. To help your disabled child become a success, encourage them to find their dreams, follow them, and supply them with coping skills and the education they require to be happy in all areas of life. This will involve learning their strengths and how they learn, being an advocate for their education, and learning what support systems are available to help them fulfill their potential.
Focus On and Encourage Strengths and Interests
It is often easier to focus on weaknesses and areas that require improvements than to focus on strengths. This is a natural way of approaching things for many people. Still, it is necessary to encourage resilience and support the progress seen on moving forward and improving things they are good at. Learning of their interests is a way to help determine their own life goals and what they consider to be a success, and the type of life they want to build. Careers and futures can be made based on strengths and interests, and working with their strengths will also allow them to develop additional skills and improve areas in which they may be weaker.
Use Supports Available
There is a lot of support available for families to help support and encourage their children with disabilities. These supports may be through the schools, doctor referrals, home care services in Perth, and guidance, or you may need to find other available resources and supports and how to become involved. While some may be offered and require a short application process, others will be harder to access and take further steps to become involved, so you will need to be an advocate for your child.
Advocate for Your Child
Using your own voice to ask doctors and teachers what resources are available, by asking for help with any concerns, and ensuring that they are being seen and any issues are being addressed is a large job for any parent, but even more for a parent of a child with disabilities. Talk to people about their strengths and the areas you need assistance with, use any adaptations available in the class to ensure they are getting the best education possible, and follow up with any skills that are being taught, so there is consistency.
Encourage Use of Coping Skills and Adaptations
When you are provided with a new set of skills that they are using at classes or sessions, encourage your child to use those at home and take advantage of the offered adaptations. For example, some children need someone to help them write for an exam or to read questions to them, others need mobility aids or different chairs to sit in, and still, others may require fidget toys to help them focus on the tasks. By encouraging your child to use the adaptations that help them and use coping mechanisms that work for them, you are setting them up for success as they will use those skills to tackle tasks throughout their lives.
