Range of Emotions of a Parent with a child who has special needs
Parents with children who have special needs are often subject to a range of emotions that are different from their counterparts who have children that do not need special care and attention. It is often the case that this type of parent feels a profound sense of helplessness, grief, or even a loss of hope due to how they perceive the future of their children.
Two Emotional States and How a Teacher would help a parent with them
In this case, the two emotional states that will be focused on is the loss of hope parents experience as well as their feeling of helplessness when it comes to dealing with their child’s disability. One of how a teacher could assist a parent going through a profound loss of hope would be to help them understand that they can prepare their children in such a way that they can live almost normal lives when they grow up. By doing so, teachers would give some hope to parents that their child is not a lost cause and that they could become productive adults.
Aside from this, teachers can help to address the feeling of helplessness experienced by parents by telling them that numerous support groups exist both within the school and outside of it to help guide them in how to care for their special needs child. These groups would enable the parent to understand what methods need to be implemented to help their child lead a healthy and productive life in the future.
Three Roles that a Parent with a Child who has a disability Might Undertake
Teacher
While it is true that schools do advocate for parents to teach their children at home whenever possible, a parent who has a child with a disability may take such a role even further by utilizing an assortment of teaching modules at home to help prepare their child in knowing how to live a normal life.
Caregiver
In many cases a parent does take care of most of the needs of their child; however, children with disabilities require considerably more specialized care and attention. It is due to this that parents who have children that have special needs are often relegated to the role of a caregiver resulting in them having to bathe, feed and even change the clothes of their special needs child.
Friend
It is often the case that children with disabilities cannot make the same type of friendships that other children are capable of making. It is due to this that parents often become one of the few friends that children with disabilities have.
Stressors that the Mother of Reese Might be Experiencing
Financial Stressors
With the recent divorce, the mother of Reese is most likely experiencing a considerable amount of financial issues since she cannot rely on the income of her husband anymore.
Parenting Stressors
It is important to note that in most households, parenting responsibilities are often shared between the mother and the father. However, in this case, most of the responsibility has been placed on the mother of Reese, and, as such, this can lead to a considerable amount of stress.
Three Ideas for Building a relationship with Reese’s Family
- Visit the family at their home and try to establish a closer relationship with Reese’s mother.
- Invite Reese’s mother to various organizations established within the school to help her make friends.
- Try to help Reese find friends within the school so that she will not feel lonely.
Responsibility of the Teacher
It is the responsibility of the teacher to not say anything since anything said in private is meant to be kept in between those involved. By relaying what was said to her, the teacher would in effect violate the trust placed on her.