Living with a Child with Special Needs: The Effects on the Family In one’s childhood it is apparent that the immediate family members have a significant impact on the way a child grows up. The environment a child is raised in can and will affect him or her in many ways. Developing siblings learn from one another through everyday play and family activities. The interactions within a family provide many opportunities to acquire social, emotional, and behavioral skills (Conger, Stocker, McGuire, 2009). Sibling relationships, which play such a critical role in a child’s overall development, take on special significance when one of the siblings has a disability (Gallagher, Powell & Rhodes, 2006). Often, as children develop, they may choose behaviors they experienced at home, while others emulate the socialization in which they were so familiar. Regardless of how the socialization plays out, it is an influential factor in the way adults live. The relationship a child develops with his or her parents can serve as a model for subsequent relationship with siblings. Whiteman, Becerra, & Killoren (2009), found research to support that a theory of sibling influences: sibling social learning is directly linked to how siblings develop similar and different attributes, attitudes, and behaviors. These demonstrations that children perform for a sibling can provide them with the skills and habits necessary for participating in today’s society. However, many different circumstances can affect this performance in siblings. Factors include parent divorce, a loss of a family member and a child with a disability. (Conger, Stocker, McGuire, 2009). Siblings who have sisters or brothers with disabilities express a number of special concerns they have a... ... middle of paper ... ...Tuli, S., Krull, K., Lai, J., & ... Shenkman, E. (2013). The Relationships Between Fatigue, Quality of Life, and Family Impact Among Children With Special Health Care Needs. Journal Of Pediatric Psychology, 38(7), 722-731. Hutchins, B. (2013, November 4). Interview by S Pappas. An Adult Perspective: Concerns for a Special Needs Sibling. Pappas, L. (2013, November 2). Interview by S Pappas. Coping with a Child with Special Needs. Seligman, M & Darling, R. B. (2007). Ordinary Families, Special Children. NY:The Guilford Press. Varnet, T. (n.d.). Futures planning for families supporting adults with life-long disabilities . Retrieved from www.ici.umn.edu Whiteman, S. D., Becerra, J. M., & Killoren, S. E. (2009). Mechanisms of sibling socialization in normative family development. New Directions For Child & Adolescent Development, 2009(126), 29-43. doi:10.1002/cd.255
History of Concerns/Goals: Onset/context: Families with children with disabilities 28% live below the federal poverty line and 2-3 times more likely to have to pay out of pocket expenses (Coppin et al., 2006). As mentioned before after the death of there father has been family dysfunction and conflict, and in clients own words “the family is “stuck in time” and in circumstances”. This reveals a long history of unsure demoralized and ever changing rules and dynamics within the family (Gilbert, Ellen,
In the textbook, Exceptional Learners: An Introduction to Special Education by Daniel Hallahan, James Kauffman, and Paige Pullen, chapter four discusses the parents and families of exceptional children. At first the chapter discusses the stages parents go through when they have a newborn that has a serious physical disability. The stages that the parents go through are shock, disruption, denial, sadness, anxiety, fear, anger, and adaption. The chapter then goes into talk about the support systems that parents need to have to keep their lives less stressful. The authors stated, “extended family members can often play a critical role in providing comfort and support to the immediate family” (Hallahan, Kauffman, Pullen, 2015, p. 69) Once the chapter talked about this they went into detail the factors that can cause stress for parents. After that the chapter talks about the siblings reactions to their
He is perhaps the posterchild for stress. Stuck at a dead-end job, longing for freedom, but unable to do so because he is the main caregiver for his brother, he does a remarkable job of showing patience when dealing with a developmentally disabled person. However, as a stressed out individual, his relationships tend to suffer, as he is riddled with frustration and thinks very negatively about himself. As the primary caregiver for his younger sibling, this is to be expected. Caregivers of physically or mentally disabled family members are at risk for chronic stress. Spouses who care for a disabled partner are particularly vulnerable to a range of stress-related health threats, including influenza, depression, and heart disease. Caring for a spouse who has even minor disabilities can lead to severe stress (Harvey
In this brief authors Epstein, Griffin and Botvin, (2008), Maintains that young sibling play an important role in shaping their environment. During an individual’s early childhood, attitudes and behavior is developed. However, the author believes that older sibling plays an important role in creating family standards and structure throughout the lifespan (Epstein, Griffin, & Botvin, 2008).
Watanabe-Hammond, S. ( 1988). Blueprints from the past: A character work perspective on siblings and personality formation. In K. G.Lewis ( Ed.), Siblings in therapy: Life span and clinical issues New York: Norton.
Cohn, M., & Ariyakulkan, L. (2008). The importance of the sibling relationship for children in
Lavoie’s workshop provokes an emotional response. After viewing life through the eyes of a child with special needs, I cannot help but have a more significant understanding of what people, especially children with disabilities, must deal with every day, everywhere. During the many years that I have worked with children with various disabilities, I have encountered each of the topics discussed in Lavoie’s workshop and agree with the points he makes regarding children with disabilities. Particularly impacting the way I interact with my students are the topics concerning: anxiety, reading comprehension, and fairness.
Dobson, B, Middleton, S, Beardsworth, A (2001), ‘The Impact of Childhood Disability On Family Life’, York Publishing Services Ltd, Joseph Rowntree Foundation, viewed on 5th April 2010,
This article mainly examines ways in which parents can deal properly with the news of being told that their child has a disability. There are a few stories in the article which emphasize the way the parents felt when they found out about their child’s disability. In most cases, the parents felt shattered, overwhelmed and completely shocked. The article explained that parents have an expectation of having that “perfect” child and when one is told that the child is not so perfect, their dreams and their lives become devastating. The reading examines ways in which to build a support system as well as ways in which to keep a balance in your life. The author indicates the importance of keeping a positive attitude when in this situation.
Three objectives were set out for this qualitative study in assessing sibling relationships in families of children with and without learning disabilities. First, to determine whether the presence of a child with learning disabilities (LD), with and without reported behavior problem, impacts the psychological well-being and self-concept of his or her siblings compared to a child without LD. Second, to establish the quality of the sibling relationship and perceived sibling impact in families of children with LD. Third, to find out whether or not a child with LD was observed by parents to have a negative impact on the family in terms of emotional, physical, and/or social stress. Families were randomly selected and placed into four groups: LD
Without the commitment of each sibling there might as well be no relationship. There is a variety of commitments in which siblings express how they communicate with their brothers or sisters. In order to determine these varieties two experiments were conducted where Weigel and Ballard Reisch (2002) investigated how commitment plays into an emerging adult’s relationship with their sibling. “The first study had 148 undergraduate students (65 males, 82 females, one participant did not identify sex) whose ages ranged from 17 to 36.” (Scott A. Myers, Leah E. Bryant, The Use of Behavioral Indicators of Sibling Commitment Among Emerging Adults, 101-125, 2008) In this particular study all of the participants were handed a questionnaire which had the definition of commitment. After reading it the participants had to identify three examples of how they provide the commitment to their siblings. Many examples were provided but there were six examples that were described most in the questionnaires. The first category of commitment was social support which was 42.7% of the
An existence of sibling rivalry or competitive behavior between siblings can depend on numerous factors. Children’s early needs include a need in feeling secure, which could be satisfied by a primary caregiver as well as other social figures involved in a child’s development. If an older sibling is securely attached to a primary caregiver, there is a good chance that the attachment toward a younger sibling will form as well. However, if looking at a child-mother attachment from a socio-emotional theory perspective, the role of gender seems to play an important part as well, because social environment is perceived differently by male and female children (Gilligan, 1982, p. 7). Information processing theory would suggest that the birth order has an impact on siblings’ development as well: older siblings tend to be more achievement oriented and conscientious, which can be a reason they have more responsibilities than younger siblings. To avoid rivalry or competitive behavior between siblings it is important to understand that children’s behavior is also shaped by society and culture, primary caregivers as well as secondary caregivers. Socio-cultural theories are directed to explain how children’s social environment influences their cognitive development, how they see
Living with a sibling that must work hard for every milestone has been inspirational. I recently spent two years teaching my brother how to ride a three-wheel bike. He is 16years old and I am still working with him on the task of knowing the difference between “yes” and “no”. While we were in school together, I had a math class above his special needs classroom. I would
Many people grow up with a sibling, in fact eighty percent of people in the United States and Europe grow up with a brother or sister (Dunn 1). Most people can agree with the statement that growing up with siblings has impacted their development and personality. This topic has been researched by psychologist and sociologist for decades; which has provided both positive and negative outcomes of growing up with siblings. Children can benefit from growing up with siblings because they can learn from their siblings, gain social skills, and their siblings may become a valuable asset in one’s life.
Extended family can influence the upbringing on children in multiple ways. To properly review and analyze research in this particular area, it is necessary to highlight important information from which formed this foundation. Extended family members have direct influences on children by serving as their role models in aiding them with success, encouragement, support and guidance (Jæger, 2012). Grandparents, crucial extended family members, which have a direct interaction with their grandchildren when they are in need of help or assistants. Grandparent most likely will step in whenever their grandchild is experiencing a crisis, such as the death of a parent, divorce, or illness (Dunifon, 2013).