In The News – Special Needs Parents, Five Tips to Simplify

I loved this post by Gina Badalaty on She Speaks from Yahoo.

I realize that many of you who are special needs parents may think I’m crazy to suggest that you simplify your life and, in fact, I once agreed with you. The paperwork, the phone calls, the management of your child’s staff is all overwhelming. The life of the parent of a child or with special needs is filled with so much “extra” that you often feel like if you drop one thing, the rest will come crashing down.

Well, I’m here to tell you it won’t. I took my cue this week from the parents I know from my community who are raising neuro-typical children. We are very close with this family and the mom is always asking us to pray that she makes it through her schedule. I know they could benefit from slimming down their obligations, and I’m convinced most special needs families can do the same.

How? You’ll never simplify your life if you don’t first sit down and consider your priorities. Realize that if you are too stressed from all the duties and responsibilities, your kids will sense that and you’ll have more behavioral issues to deal with. I’ve noticed that when mom and dad calm down, the children have an easier time calming themselves down and seem to go with the flow.