Tips for Parents

Learn about your child’s disability. The more you know, the more you can help yourself and your child. Keep contacting associations and doctors, nurse and therapists for information. See the list of resources and organizations in our resource library.

Love and play with your child. Treat your son or daughter as you would a child without disabilities. Take your child places, read together, have fun.

Learn from professionals and other parents how to meet your child's special needs, but try not to turn your lives into one round of therapy after another. You need to give time to all your family members, career etc.

Ask for help from family and friends. Caring for a child with disabilities is hard work. Teach others what to do and give them plenty of opportunities to practice while you take a break.

Keep informed about new treatments and technologies that may help. New approaches are constantly being worked on and can make a huge difference to the quality of your child's life. However, be careful about unproven new "fads."

Be patient, keep up your hope for improvement. Your child, like every child, has a whole lifetime to learn and grow.

Work with professionals and teachers to develop a plan of care that reflects your child's needs and abilities. Be sure to include related services such as speech-language physical therapy, and occupational therapy. Don't forget about assistive technology either!