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