What Causes Increased Stress for Parents of Children With Special Needs?

Finances

• Children with special needs often require medical interventions, frequent testing and evaluations or medications that can be costly. Many parents face problems when insurances do not pay for services or if they have large co-pays. Because many children with disabilities require constant parental supervision, it is often impossible for both spouses to work. This further complicates the financial strain a family may experience. Beyond the everyday stresses of meeting current financial obligations, many of these parents also face the burden of providing for their child's care for a lifetime.

Fear of the Future

• Parents of children with special needs may fear what will happen to their child in the future and worry that he will never be independent and able to function on his own. The possibility of college or holding a job may be out of reach or seem impossible. Parents of children with severe disabilities may worry that when they get old or die, their child will not be able to function without them.

Over Tired and Over Worked

• Raising a child with a disability is a full-time job and doesn't stop at the end of the day. Many children require 24-hour supervision, either due to physical conditions that can quickly turn life threatening or because the child lacks the skills and maturity to understand danger and participates in risky behaviors. Others with behavioral or psychological impairments may be a risk to themselves or others. Although respite services would provide some relief, Psyche Central says the services are often difficult to find due to the lack of funding allocated to such services. According to the American Academy of Pediatrics, parents of children with special needs often experience health issues arising from long-term caregiving.

Isolation

• Parents of children with special needs often feel isolated. Parents of non-disabled peers may not understand the child's disability and make disparaging remarks or suggest the child is just spoiled. Even in the best of circumstances, they may have difficulty relating to other parent's concerns as the conversation centers around the social life and accomplishments of their non-disabled children, which can seem alien to parents of children with special needs. Due to their child's behavioral or physical issues, parents may find themselves tied to the house and unable to visit friends of go out for the evening. Parents of children with special needs often feel alone, especially if they are fighting for services for their child and if they feel like no one understands.