How Teens Cope With a Disability

Denial

• Sometimes a teen who has a disability will be in denial of her disability. A teen with diabetes, for example, might overindulge in sweets even though she knows it is a trigger for her disability, according to the Healthy Children website. A teen who is a hemophiliac might participate in dangerous activities knowing he is risking severe damage to himself. Healthy Children advises parents of teens with disabilities to watch for behaviors that indicate they are in denial.

Support System

• Living with a disability can be isolating for a teen. Teens with disabilities need a strong support system for healthy coping, according to an article at PsychCentral.com. A teen with a disability sometimes joins a local support group of peers dealing with the same or similar issues as themselves. Teens can thrive in dealing with their disability when they can feel that they are being helpful themselves, according to the PsychCentral article. They help another disabled teens work through frustrations or just open up themselves. Disabled teens who turn to support groups in order to cope usually have the healthiest ways of dealing with disability.

Concealment

• Some disabilities can be hidden from the public. Sometimes a disabled teen will conceal her disability as much as possible. According to WebMD, a teen with a disability such as epilepsy might keep their disability a secret as long as possible. Only if the teen has a seizure will the disability need to be explained. Many teens are afraid of being stigmatized, and will hide whatever differences they can in order to fit in with their peers, according to WebMD.

Positive Attitude

• Not every disabled teen lets her difference get the best of her. Many teens turn to positive thinking as their coping mechanism. The disability coping website Disabled World encourages nurturing positive thinking. A teen with a disability might have spent his entire life with his disability, but during over the years he might turn to positive thinking as his way of drawing people to him who love him for his personality, and see beyond his disability. Disabled World suggests a teen with a loving, supportive family is more apt to choose to handle his disability with a positive attitude.