Caring For Children With Special Needs

Children with special needs are special in every sense of the word. They grow at their own unique pace and bless the lives of people who come in contact with them. If you’ve ever interacted with a special needs child, you can attest to the fact that their smile warms your heart. The fact that you were able to do something right or say something nice that made the child smile is enough to make your day or the entire week.

It’s a different scenerio for parents who have a child/children with special needs. Yes, they love their child(ren) but the responsibility of caring for them is challenging. This is a subject that many people avoid for the fear of saying the wrong things or being labelled as insensitive.

We understand that this is a touchy subject but still, we’d love to give our two cents to help make your journey on this unique path as stress-free as possible. When caring for a child with special needs, you should;

INTERACT

The crux of interacting with your child lies in communication. Talk to your child(ren) all the time even if they can’t talk back, praise them, sing to them and speak kind words always. It might seem like they don’t/can’t understand you but if you keep it up long enough, you and your child would develop a unique communication system.

ENGAGE

Engage their mind with books, pictures, interesting cartoons/movies or fun games/activities. Engaging the mind of a special needs child not only gets you a boatload of smiles but it also stimulates their mind and helps with mental growth.

OBSERVE

Observation is very important. You need to know/understand your child’s body language. If your child(ren) is unable to speak to you, their body language would tell you if they are upset, happy, hungry or feeling some type of way. You can only understand their body language by observing them and spending enough time with them.

BE CONSISTENT

You have to be consistent in everything you do. Sticking to your daily routines presents a sense of normalcy for your child(ren). Anything outside your daily routines might scare or confuse them.

REST

Your body and your mind need rest. It is okay to take a break from time to time to recharge your body and your mind. You can have your partner or a trained special needs child-minder care for your child for a few hours while you get some rest. You need to always be in the right frame of mind for your child. You are doing your best and your best is good enough. Always remember that.

If you are a friend or close relative of a parent with a special needs child, offer to help them as often as you can. They need it and we are certain that they’d appreciate it.