How to Help Your Child Deal With Amputation

Seeing your child through an amputation is a challenge on many levels -- emotionally, physically and financially. While you might feel pressured to put on a brave face, most children appreciate it when adults are honest with them. Harborview Medical Center doctor Douglas G. Smith, writing for the Amputee Coalition, states that children of different ages respond to amputation differently. Some children struggle with a minor amputation more than others struggle with a major one. Your job as a parent is to provide encouragement and love no matter what.

Instructions

    • 1

      Advocate constantly for your child's medical needs. This can mean battling with insurance companies for referrals to specialists, but in seeking the best treatment, you'll not only ease your child's physical suffering, you'll also model persistence and determination.

    • 2

      Listen to your child's frustrations without trying to talk him out of them. He differs from other kids in a significant way, and it's going to be an emotional challenge throughout his childhood. Prepare for anger, sometimes directed at you, and resolve to listen without interrupting or arguing. Let him vent whenever he needs to, but discourage him from feeling sorry for himself.

    • 3

      Introduce your child to other amputees. Ask his doctor for a referral to a group or an introduction to another amputee close to your child's age. The International Child Amputee Network or the Amputee Coalition can help you find events for amputee children and their families, such as conferences, field trips and summer camps.

    • 4

      Take your child to a counselor as soon as possible after the amputation. Amputations are life-changing events, and it's normal to feel depressed. A therapist can help your child process his emotions and his changing sense of self. It's not up to you to do it alone.

    • 5

      Tell your child that your expectations of him haven't changed. You still expect him to go to school, have friends, participate in activities and live a normal life. Hold him to the same intellectual and behavioral standards as you did before the amputation, and assure him you'll do everything in your power to help him regain his physical function.

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