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Home › Articles › Special Needs › Extra Special

Extra Special

Parenting a Child With Multiple Special Needs

By Gwen Morrison

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Diagnosis of Multiple Special Needs
"It is extremely challenging to be a parent of a child with more than one disability because your child doesn't easily fall into any one category," says Barton. "Children with ADHD, for example, often have more than one disability."

Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD) rarely travels alone. It is often accompanied by one or more co-morbid disorders, such as bipolar disorder, depression, obsessive-compulsive disorder and/or Tourette's. This makes it challenging for parents who are left to wonder why their child is not thriving. It's fairly common for a physician to diagnose a child with ADHD and stop there, missing other special needs.

"Often it takes three to five years for someone to suggest the child might have another issue," says Barton. "Then they have to go through another round of professional testing and treating, renegotiate education programs and more."

Understandably, this can be very taxing for parents. "Many children need physical therapy, speech therapy and more in addition to applied behavior analysis," says Dr. Cigales. "Finding all of those providers, coordinating those services, scheduling and getting to appointments can be a strain. This usually works well if one parent is at home or works only part time."

Dr. Cigales has seen lots of mothers break down in tears because of the pressure. "It's usually the moms who carry most of the weight in terms of getting their children adequate services."

Vogel stresses to parents that the impact on the family is huge. "You need to create and accept a new sense of 'normal,'" she says. "There are new and greater demands placed on all members of the family and therefore increased stress, and this affects everyone."

The Final Reward
Witnessing their child successfully face many of the struggles that go along with their multiple special needs is a rewarding experience for many parents. "Strength for me comes from within, but it also comes from the positive reinforcement of seeing my child succeeding in so many ways due to my desire to fight the fights and be the advocate," says Vogel. "My children, in spite of their needs, will be successful, independent adults, in part because they are taught that they are like everyone else – they can do anything they dream of and never let anything stand in their way."

Taking Care of Yourself

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