 |
Original materials below are reproduced from Coping.org, a Public Service of James J. Messina, Ph.D. & Constance M. Messina, Ph.D., 6319 Chauncy Street, Tampa, FL 33647 Email: jjmess@tampabay.rr.com ©1999-2004 James J. Messina, Ph.D. & Constance Messina, Ph.D. |
It is important for you to be able to describe your child's diagnosed disability. This will insure that you are able to be informed and precise as you seek out and advocate for services for your child. Review the Glossary of Terms on this website to facilitate your understanding of the jargon used by the professionals and programs involved with your child.What follows are descriptions of a variety of disabilities:
1. Mental Handicap (EMH, TMH, SPMH) The child with a mental handicap is one who may not be able to learn quickly or as much as most other children that age. This includes children who are EMH "educable," TMH "trainable," or SPMH "profound."
2. Specific Learning Disability (SLD) The child with a specific learning disability is one who seems to have average or better ability, health, vision, hearing, and intelligence, but is still unable to learn things as easily or as quickly as most other children that age.
3. Attention Deficit/Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD) The child with ADHD is one who has a neurological condition which results in a problem in paying attention and/or acting impulsively more than other children that age. This problem can be just distractibility and poor attention span or just hyperactivity and no control over impulses and behaviors or can be a combination of both conditions.
4. Hearing Impairment The child with an hearing impairment is one who has a loss of some or most of the ability to hear. This includes children who are deaf or hard-of-hearing.
5. Blind/Visual Impairment The child with a visual impairment is one who has a loss of some or all of ability to see. This includes children who are blind or partially sighted.
6. Emotional Handicap (EH, SED) A child with an emotional handicap may seem to act differently, think differently, or have different feelings than most other children that age. This includes students who are "severely emotionally disturbed - (SED)".
7. Physical Impairment (PI) The child with a physical impairment is one who has a severe illness, condition, or disability (cerebral palsy, spina bifida, muscular dystrophy etc) which makes it hard to develop in gross and fine motor arena in the same ways as other children that age.
8. Autistic Spectrum Disorder The child with autistic spectrum disorder (including Pervasive Developmental Disorder (PDD) and Multi System Disorder (MSD)) may seem to act, talk, think or behave very differently from other children that age. This child may not like to be close to people. This child has problems with sensory issues, motor planning and emotional and social development.
9. Speech and Language Impairment The child with a speech or language impairment is one who has problems in talking so that the child can be understood, sharing ideas, expressing needs, or understanding what others are saying.
10. Seizure Disorder (Epilepsy) The child with a seizure disorder has a neurological condition which affects the central nervous system and results in the child having seizures. A seizure is a time-limited event that results from abnormal neuronal activity in the brain.
11. Homebound/Hospitalized A child who must stay at home or in a hospital for a period of time because of a severe illness, injury, or health problem has special needs as well due to the long term confinement and medical conditions involved.
12. Gifted A child, who is gifted is one who is very, very bright or smart and who learns things much more quickly than other children that age. Children with gifted intelligence present as many challenges to parents as children with the other special needs listed above.
F. How well have you handled the shock of your child's diagnosis?
Step 1: Before you can be expected to deal with your child's diagnosis of a disability, you must identify the diagnosis. You must be able to put it into words. Answer the following questions in your journal:
- What diagnosis were you given for your target child? Who gave it to you? When was it given to you? Who did you seek out to confirm this diagnosis? When?
- What does this diagnosis mean? What does it involve? What does it mean for the future of your child?
- What questions did you ask and have answered after you were given the confirmed diagnosis on your child?
- On what level of awareness are you concerning the diagnosis?
- Minimal?
- Partial?
- Considerable?
- What is your level of acceptance of this diagnosis?
- How have you handled this diagnostic information with
- your spouse,
- your other children,
- your parents,
- in-laws,
- other family members, and
- friends?
7. What programs, professionals, and schools are available for your child?
8. What new things are you doing for your child, self, spouse, and family as a result of this diagnosis?
9. Which of rights of parents presented in this chapter do you feel you have not yet used?
10. How do you feel about these parental rights and how do they apply to you?
Step 2: Now that you have identified the diagnosis, you are ready to address your handling of it. Answer the following questions in your journal:
How free do I feel in bringing my child into public places like malls, restaurants, and markets, etc.?
How comfortable do I feel when strangers ask me what is wrong with my child?
How do I handle questions from my parents, in-laws, family, and friends about my child's condition?
How well do I relate to the professionals involved in my child's life?
How comfortable do I feel in being involved in a support group for parents of children with this disability?
How much hope for the future do I have? How realistic is it?
How much support do I feel from my spouse in handling the reality of my child's diagnosis?
How willing am I to face the lifelong advocacy role for my child?
How much support do I feel from other parents who have children with similar problems?
What hardships or roadblocks do I foresee in getting optimal care for my child's disability?
Step 3: Once you have assessed how you are handling your target child's diagnosis you are ready to develop a plan of action for yourself. Write this plan of action in your journal:
My Plan of Action to Handle my Child's Diagnosis
The diagnosis my child has is:
I will get answers to the following questions about the diagnosis:
I will seek to become fully aware of the full details of the diagnosis and long-term prognosis by this date: (month, day, year):
I will perform the following tasks within the next three years to help my child with the disability diagnosed:
I will use the following rights of parents as I help my child.
I will insure the physical and mental health of (1) myself, (2) my marriage, (3) my other children, (4) my target child, (5) our family by:
I will perform the following advocacy tasks to insure that quality care is received by my target child during the next three years:
I will reassess these goals every three years. My first review date will be (month, day, year):
Step 4: If you still have problems handling the shock of diagnosis, return to Step 1 and begin again.
