In the midst of learning that your child has a life long disability, life goes on day after day. The days turn into weeks, weeks turn into months, and months add up to years. While we were experiencing the variety of emotional responses along the way, it seemed as though life for everyone else easily went on as we all hope and expect. But for me, accomplishing the day to day tasks of running a household proved extremely challenging.
Over the years, we have learned that the key to day-to-day family life for a family that contains a member with a disability is learning the art of adapting. The main ingredient to learning this art is love for the family member. Other necessary ingredients include education about how your child is affected by his or her disability and the best ways to assist him or her. Your child's physical and occupational therapists, as well as other service providers, can provide you with such information. Other ingredients are a strong belief in your child's ABILITIES and a deep-seated desire to have your child participate in as many natural childhood experiences as possible. These qualities will lead you to thinking creatively and mastering the art of adapting.
I remember taking my son to his well-baby checkup when he was four months old and inquiring about what I should be doing to help him achieve developmental milestones. During this visit I learned that my son would provide the "lead" and my role was to pick up on his lead and enrich his experiences and desire to explore and learn. With Emily, the opposite was necessary -- I needed to provide the lead and she would then follow. Since Emily has cerebral palsy, proper positioning is crucial for her to engage in all natural childhood experiences as well as educational experiences.
I share with you here the adaptive equipment, assistive technology, and other adaptive measures we took to assist Emily and to enable our family to function on a day to day basis. You may visit my Links page for a list of vendors, or simply ask your child's phyical or occupational therapist about the equipment you are interested in.
[Errands]
[Car Seats, Wheelchairs, and School Buses]
[A Few Words About Environmental Modifications]
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