Children With Disabilities And Their Effect On The Family
A new member of the family is always a source of joy. Everyone mobilizes to welcome the baby and congratulate the happy parents. However, the reality is that this situation is not always as idyllic and wonderful as we would like.
Sometimes there are problems or unexpected events that need to be dealt with and that can cause discomfort among family members. One is the birth of children with disabilities. Understanding how this news affects the family is essential to better organize all the associated obstacles… Continue reading this article to learn more!
Children with disabilities and their impact on family dynamics
First, children with disabilities influence the different members and relationships that take place within the family. You must consider that this condition will be associated with difficulties at different stages of the person’s life cycle, which can be translated into tensions between family members.
If they don’t understand each other and control these tensions, it’s normal for a lot of conflicts to arise. On the one hand, the sentimental partner may start to distance themselves and fail to communicate effectively, which will create a vicious circle of malaise that will be very difficult to stop.
On the other hand, conflicts may appear with the child who has the disability, since he can be overprotected and this restricts his autonomy, not recognizing that he has capacities that are not affected, or that are only partially, and that you can enjoy a greater degree of independence. Problems can arise between the brothers, because more responsibilities or responsibilities that do not correspond to those who do not have disabilities can be imposed. A feeling of denial or shame about the situation they have to live with can also arise.
However, this situation can also influence the whole family in a positive way. In fact, it can strengthen family ties, fostering cohesion and closeness between different members. In other words: it can enhance the resilience of all of them.
Children with disabilities and their impact on the social and professional spheres
Although society is advancing, there are still many misconceptions about people with disabilities, so that rejection is still present today. This can lead families with children with disabilities to become increasingly isolated, reducing both the number of social relationships and their quality as well as leisure activities.
This deterioration in the social environment can also appear in the professional environment. If family members think that it will not be possible to reconcile this situation with their work, it is possible that they will end up leaving their job. Even if they do this with the family care in mind, it can turn into another form of tension, since in addition to affecting the caregiver’s well-being, this decision also has a financial impact.
Children with disabilities and the impact on the health of family members
Everything we’ve talked about so far doesn’t affect the different members of the family in the same way. As it is easy to imagine, this family, social, professional and financial situation can influence the health of all family members, but especially those who are responsible for the care of people with disabilities.
In this person or people, the excess of responsibility in caring for the other can lead to great emotional discomfort. It is normal for feelings of sadness, anger, anxiety or guilt to arise for the situation that one is going through and for the negative emotions experienced.
This not only affects you on a psychological level, but it can also make you feel more tired and drained than usual, so you feel your physical health is deteriorating. As we have said before, having children with disabilities can cause additional difficulties in life, but they can only turn into beneficial situations for us if we learn to control them properly…. Let’s work for the well-being of all!
Images courtesy of Nathan Anderson and John Appel.
