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