Dealing with a disability

Well,

It's been a rough weekend, to say the least. As stated in my earlier posts, my niece and sister in law were here. As a result, that has kept the whole family busy. It's been nice though. I continue to be amazed at the strides that Elizabeth is making. She is beginning to talk more and more every time I see her. Boy, she is also a runner and very adventurous when it comes to getting into things. This includes everything from toys to anything you can think of. As a result, I haven't had much time to look at any current issues relating to disabilities. A while back I had begin to TiVo things regarding disability and anything having to do with people with disabilities. I'm thinking of posting more about TiVo later, so keep your eyes peeled.

Anyway, one of these TiVoed programs had to do with a mother and her difficulty of accepting the public's view of her child and her disability. During this program, the mother voiced feelings of insecurity about how to deal with the stares and glances of other children as well as people in general. Berkeley was born with only one hand, because of amniotic band syndrome, which causes problems because of the amniotic fluid at birth. In the course of the program, Lisa gets advice from a group of mothers as well as a family therapist on how to cope with her disability.

Lisa realizes that she has the same hopes and dreams for her daughter as most parents do. "My dreams from Berkeley is just what any other parent dreams would be for the children, to reach their goals and hers are just like anyone else's is. Right now, her milestone would be to ride a bike. "

Some of the advice given to her was:

• Approach situations with positive expectations
• change your own perspective, don't view others reactions as the negative. But instead a positive. For example, "they are looking at my child because they are surprised at how happy and well-adjusted she is."
• Join a support group. This way, parents can get other tips from people dealing with the same situations; this will allow her to feel more empowered when encountering difficult situations.

Citation for TV program: "Dealing With a Disability : Lisa's story" TLC, (The Learning Channel), Channel 70, Surviving Motherhood at 3 p.m., March 26, 2007 (original air date: May 17, 2006)