DEVELOPMENT
JO
A DIFFERENT Text by Central Valley Regional Center
W
hen you learn that your child has a disability or a chronic illness, you begin an unplanned journey and you may feel utterly alone on this road.
Any unanticipated news regarding your child’s health and future can be shocking. Parents who have been in this situation report that one of their initial reactions was denial – “This cannot be happening to my child, to me, to us.” Denial can rapidly turn into anger. That anger can be focused in many different directions. It can be directed at the source of the news; the medical professionals working with your child. Anger can also become the language you now communicate with. Those feelings can become so intense that they touch everyone with whom you come in contact. You are confused – “What does this mean? What does the future hold?” In that confusion you may also have intense feelings of guilt – “Was this something I caused? Why my child? Why us? Why now? Am I being punished?” There is fear of what the future will hold for your child, for yourself and your relationships. The unknowns create such fear that parents imagine the very worst possible, for all concerned. You feel powerless because you cannot control what is happening or change that your child has an illness or disability.
24
RAISE MAGAZINE | JANUARY 2014