COUNSELING SKILLS
IN WORKING WITH
FAMILIES OF CHILDREN WITH
DISABILITIES
I. INTRODUCTION**
Clients benefit much more when families are included!
Family systems theory—families are interdependent
Owens, Farinella, & Metz 2015:
For persons with disabilities, unemployment is an issue:
II. SPOUSES• A. General Facts
What is the dream when you get married? **
• Happily ever after• Successful family• Nice balance between personal life and career• Nice homeBe together foreverHave plenty of $$Healthy, happy, attractive grandchildrenGood retirement
B. Factors in Preserving a Marriage
C. Working with Spouses
Chabon, S., & Cohn, E.R. (2012). The communication disorders casebook: Learning by example.
III. PARENTSA. Working with Parents
Research has found:
In addition:
There is a wonderful book written by the father of a severely autistic boy:
• Naseef, N.A. (2001). Special children, challenged parents: The struggles and rewards of raising a child with a disability.
• Baltimore: Paul H. Brookes Publishing Co.
FYI….Hulit, Fahey, & Howard 2015:
Naseef interviewed couples who had a disabled child; he found that men wanted:
What women wanted:
Youtube video 30 minutes
• Naseef fathers and autism
• Information from Tiegerman-Farber & Radziewicz. Language Disorders in Children: Real Families, Real Issues, and Real Interventions.
• New Jersey: Pearson Education.
Mothers often feel:
Fathers often feel:
Fathers feel (continued)
B. Building Positive Relationships with Parents
• **12. Watch where you sit. When you sit across from somebody, that indicates a possible adversarial/authoritative position. If you sit next to someone, there is a greater feeling of camaraderie.
• 13. Maintain good eye contact, and use the parents’ names throughout the meeting
• 14. Validate parents’ feelings, acknowledge their struggles
III. GRANDPARENTS
IV. SIBLINGS
V. THE INFLUENCE OF POVERTY**
• Please know the chart on p. 263 for the exam
• One issue is that the parents need as much support as their children do—we can use a team approach to try and provide this support
• Parents are barely surviving; speech and language issues are often very low priority
There can be value conflicts:
VI. CHILDREN OF ADULTS WITH DISABILITIES
