Your child has just been diagnosed with a developmental disorder, or with a mental disorder, or with a serious health condition. This is going to be a traumatic experience for any parent to go through. Here are some suggestions about how to cope with this knowledge.
Perhaps you always had a “feeling” that something was “different” about your child. Maybe you have taken your child to see doctors and specialists, in order to confirm or deny your suspicion. You might have visited with a psychologist or other mental health practitioner who observed your child. After all this, you finally get an official diagnosis. This can be both a relief, and a giant source of stress. That vague “feeling” is now a medically proven fact.
Parents who had no idea that their child had a special need may find themselves emotionally devastated by an official diagnosis. You thought your child was “normal” until a doctor tells you something that you were not expecting. Stress that is unexpected can be especially difficult to come to terms with.
No matter which of the above situations matches yours, there are ways to cope with your child’s diagnosis. Take what you need from these tips, use them, and give yourself some stress relief.
Understand that it is acceptable to grieve. When you were pregnant, you may have had dreams about what your child would be like, and what kind of person he or she would grow up to be. Your vision has now been changed based on your child’s diagnosis. It is normal to feel some sense of loss. It doesn’t make you a bad parent to feel this way. The grieving process is something you may want to seek help with. It will not last forever.
Start early with intervention. What does your child’s doctor recommend in terms of therapy that involves prescription medication? What can your child’s school offer to meet your child’s newly discovered special need? Does your child’s therapist have suggestions about what you can do, at home, in order to best help your child? The earlier you start with these types of interventions the better the outcome will be.
Get organized. It is very likely going to take a while before your doctor can find the best medication for your child to use. It will also take some time to learn what the proper dosage will be. Start writing down your observations about how your child behaves as this trial period is going on.
Keep a folder with all the written information that comes with the prescription medication, or that comes from your child’s school. The more information you have at your fingertips, the easier it will be to speak with your doctor about this stressful process.
Image by Mykl Roventine on Flickr