All parents, no matter what their circumstances, can benefit from some support. Parents of children who have special needs also require support. In San Jose, California, a support hotline is being set up for parents who cannot leave home to attend a support group.
In March of 2012, tragedy struck in Sunnydale, California. A mother named Elizabeth Hodgins killed her 22 year old son, George, and then killed herself. George had autism, and Elizabeth was his primary caretaker.
Her husband, Lester, arrived home from work one day to find the bodies of his wife and son. He didn’t know what, exactly, caused Elizabeth to do this, but did note that there were ongoing medical issues with George.
It is possible that Elizabeth felt overwhelmed. In 1995, she wrote an editorial in The Mercury News about “the fear, pain, and anxiety” she felt about her son, George’s, condition. Before Elizabeth made her tragic decisions, she reportedly told neighbors that she was overwhelmed, tired, and having problems finding a day program for her 22 year old son.
This tragedy was the inspiration for volunteers to set up a support hotline for parents of kids who have special needs. The goal of the hotline is that there will be trained volunteers who are there to listen to, and provide emotional support for, parents who are overwhelmed, who feel alone and hassled.
The volunteers will be people who are also parents of developmentally disabled people. These volunteers will understand what it is like to feel that kind of stress because they have lived through it themselves.
Imagine what it must be like for a parent to cope with a child who grows to the size of an adult, but who remains, developmentally speaking, at the level of a typical toddler. This is the type of situation that often results in parents being unable to find a sitter, and who cannot easily leave the house with their child – even to do something as mundane as grocery shopping. This has to be incredibly isolating and overwhelming.
The hotline will be there to provide a support system for parents who cannot attend in-person support groups. It will be a lifeline for parents who are in desperate need of a break and who need an understanding person to talk to about their situations. This could be the difference between “a difficult day” and another tragedy like the one that occurred in Sunnydale, California.
Image by Marc Lagneau on Flickr