Emotional Adjustment of the Physically Handicapped Child
EMOTIONAL ADJUSTMENT OF THE PHYSICALLY HANDICAPPED CHILD
Sometimes babies are not born healthy or normal. Some parents will have a baby who has a birth defect, who is developmentally delayed or a baby who is born with special needs. Before your baby is born, you may or may not know that your baby will have special needs. When parents learn that their child has a disability, they begin a journey that takes them into a life that is often filled with strong emotions and difficult choices, and they need time to adjust to their new life. One of the first reactions of parents who recently learned that their child is physically handicapped is denial (this cannot be happening to me, to my child, to my family). Denial rapidly merges with anger, which may be directed toward medical personnel or toward husbands, wives, grandparents,… Fear is another immediate response, because they fear what is going to happen whit this child when he is five years old, when he is twelve years old, when he is twenty-five, what is going to happen to this child when they are gone. Then there is guilt, guilt and concern about whether the parents themselves have caused the problem (did I do something to cause this, am I being punished for something I have done…). After guilt comes confusion, powerlessness to change what is happening, disappointment and rejection. I think that is very important for parents to find another parent of a child with a disability so they can talk and help each other. But there are not just the parents that need emotional adjustment. Handicapping condition can also have an effect on the child himself. The child will suffer a lot of educational difficulties, negative attitude of his community, peers and parents toward
Sometimes babies are not born healthy or normal. Some parents will have a baby who has a birth defect, who is developmentally delayed or a baby who is born with special needs. Before your baby is born, you may or may not know that your baby will have special needs. When parents learn that their child has a disability, they begin a journey that takes them into a life that is often filled with strong emotions and difficult choices, and they need time to adjust to their new life. One of the first reactions of parents who recently learned that their child is physically handicapped is denial (this cannot be happening to me, to my child, to my family). Denial rapidly merges with anger, which may be directed toward medical personnel or toward husbands, wives, grandparents,… Fear is another immediate response, because they fear what is going to happen whit this child when he is five years old, when he is twelve years old, when he is twenty-five, what is going to happen to this child when they are gone. Then there is guilt, guilt and concern about whether the parents themselves have caused the problem (did I do something to cause this, am I being punished for something I have done…). After guilt comes confusion, powerlessness to change what is happening, disappointment and rejection. I think that is very important for parents to find another parent of a child with a disability so they can talk and help each other. But there are not just the parents that need emotional adjustment. Handicapping condition can also have an effect on the child himself. The child will suffer a lot of educational difficulties, negative attitude of his community, peers and parents toward