Interview

Over the past week I have continued to think about the interview I did. There were a few things about my interview that I have kept in mind. I met a lady at Long John Silvers and she just so happened to have a daughter with Cystic Fibrosis. We began talking and I ended up interviewing her for our assignment. The difference with her from all the other parents I have met with a child who has a disability, is that her stressed was different. The most stressful moments for her are when her daughter is in pain and she can't take the pain away. Another big factor of stress is the thought of not being able to find a cure before her daughter dies.
I have read articles and watched videos, but never have I heard that a parent's stressed is caused by not being able to help their child while they are in pain. I've heard parents fear when they think about their child's future, but never for the pain the child is in at that moment. I found it very interesting that I had not once heard that a parent becomes stress due to feeling unable to prevent pain from their child. After reading all the articles I was sure one of the stresses from the articles would be mention, but this lady seemed very encouraged. There are so many families that feel stressed and need to be encouraged. I believe the lady I met had encouragement to help her stay strong.

Being prepared

I think that teachers need to be prepared and able to answer questions that parents might have. I also think that teachers should be able to give insight to parents about different programs. I found a website called the Morgan Project. The events all take place in Florida, but I thought it would be useful even though we are not in Florida. I plan to teach out of state, so if I were to ever teach in Florida this would be a wonderful website to know about. I thought it would be a good example of websites, since it is the first one I have found that is still being updated. Stress of parents can be relieved if they become involved with programs like the Morgan Project, by meeting others that can understand their situation. http://www.themorganproject.org/about-us/

Teacher's Responsibility

I have continued to try to find more about the stress of parents with a child who has a disability and how to help those parents cope. Most parents constantly think about their child's future in hopes that their child will be able to accomplish the goals their child sets. Fear of the future can cause the parents with children who has a disability a lot of stress. In the article I found it mention how parents begin thinking about "What ifs." The article mentions that even though some things may not seem like they will happen something good will happen. I think the important key for parents is to keep in mind that they need to think about all the positive aspects that will come of the situation. Sometimes it is easy to wonder why something could possible happen to us, instead of accepting the situation and saying well maybe this will help me grow stronger. Finding someone to rely on with help parents remember that they are not alone. Another stress reliever for parents is finding out more information and learning to ask the right questions. This is where I believe teachers play an important role. If parents are unsure of the laws and who to ask, teachers need to help the parents. The teachers need to know the laws and know where to find out more information in order to assist the parents. I have heard about teachers who don't assist parents. My thought is if a teacher wants to have effective teacher skills, they need to know more about each of their students. If a parent can't find information out or can't find answer to their questions, then the teacher won't have any answer for the student either. If the teacher doesn't have answer then when he/she teaches the child it will not be effective and it will become stressful. When teachers help parents their is less stress for everyone.
I thought it was interesting that the article even stated what list parents' can look at to find programs for their child and the family. The article even mention that when one is stressed one must take care of themselves. The are several interesting topics this article discusses.

http://nichcy.org/wp-content/uploads/docs/nd20.pdf

Cerebal Palsy

I wanted to find out what caused stress for parents who have a child with a disability, but I found this aritcle that talked about stress of parents with a child who has cerebral palsy. It was mentioned that parents of children who have cerebral palsy have the same potential to have high stress levels as parents with a child who has any other disability. The only difference is that parents with children who have cerebral palsy don't have high stress levels; they actually have normal levels of stress. I thought this was very interesting. There has no been any further reasons why this may be, but attempts have been made. what helps these parents to keep a normal level of stress and why don't they have high levels of stress?

http://onlinelibrary.wiley.com.proxy.libraries.uc.edu/doi/10.1111/j.1469-8749.2011.04037.x/full

Reducing Stess

I found this article that gave tips, on how to reduce stress, for parents who have children with learning disabilities. This article highlighted a few good points that I didn't consider to reduce stress. Parents who have children with disabilities have a lot to do on a daily basis. The second tip discusses setting realistic standards. Parents need to set realistic standards for the load they can carry and try not to take on too much. Although it may be tough for a parent to adjust their lifestyle to fulfill all their child's need, parents need to reject jobs or activities that they would normally participate in so they don't become too stressed. Adjusting to new things can give someone a lot of stress, but when one tries to adjust to new things and keep all the old things is can be worse. This week I will try to research more information on methods to reduce stress for parents with children who have a disability.



http://learningdisabilities.about.com/od/parentsandfamilyissues/tp/Stress_Management_Tips.htm

The six stages of adjustments for parents.

I began to do more research on ways teachers can help, parents who have a child with a disability, cope and reduce stress. From an article I read, I learned that there can be six stages parents go through that starts from the moment they are told their child may or does have a disability. These stages are important for a teacher to have knowledge about in order to help a parent cope and overcome the stress they are under as well as the pain. Stage three and four mention that parents may be guilty when they first find out about their child. As a teacher it is important to help parents realize they aren't at fault. If a parent feels guilty it will be tough for them to adjustment and not hold harsh feelings towards themselves and their child. The more acquainted a teacher is with the stages, the more likely a teacher will be able to identify and understand how a parent is feeling. The information with assist the teacher when giving advice to the parent or parents. I intend to do more research to find out where teachers can recommend parents to go to reduce stress and help cope.

http://www.ldonline.org/article/5937/

The continuous stress for parents

I am very interested in different ways to help parents cope and ways to keep them involved. My last post I discussed information about a student in the classroom I student teach in. I believe that a parent wouldn't want to face the truth, because they don't want to deal with the stress or they are uneducated about disabilities. Having a child with a disability have to face financial issues and some parents can't afford the medical bills. I first want to learn more about issues that parents face and then get more details of ways to help parents deal with stress. Chapters 5 in the book discusses stress factors. I could not imagine the stress a family faces. Depending on their child's need the child's parents rarely get the chance to relax. In the video I linked parents give the input. Parents tell of the some of the difficulties they face. One mother shares how she is unable to take two of her children, who have disabilities, anywhere at the same time. Parents needs to be comforted, supported, and assisted. They face tough challenges, but yet the challenges compile more and more.



http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rZa9tlH7Mw0&feature=related