Now I've Got a Child With IDD

A lot of people do not know what to do once their child is diagnosed with an intellectual or developmental disability. I want to let you know this is not the end of the world. There are people that can help you. It might take a while for everyone to come to accept the child in the family, but they eventually will.

If you are worried about the people in your family accepting your child, you should not. They will accept them eventually. I say eventually, because just like you they had the shock, and have to process their emotions. Everyone is different and will approach this differently. Let them process it and have their reactions. Try not to get defensive if they say something rude, or are shocked at first. Not everyone will be as receptive to it at first.

You also should not worry about them making friends. There are great opportunities for them to make friends now. There are schools with great programs that promote inclusion of the special education programs and the students in them, like best buddies. These things are huge steps for our society becoming more open and caring towards those with disabilities. It is a great thing.

I think that they also do a great job of making the students with disabilities become more connected to each other. There are great programs for that as well. There are things they can do both during the school year, and while school is out during summer vacation. If you look you can find a lot of different opportunities for the students to have to make new connections and stronger ones.

The summer day camps are great. A lot of the special needs students I help go to a lot of different camps during the summer. It keeps them busy and makes them feel more normal. I think these opportunities are great for them and are great for everyone involved. It helps promote more inclusion from other students that help at these programs.

I would also strongly recommend asking other parents what they can do around that area. It is very helpful if they can make friends in the areas near their house. This prevents long drives to other places and they get to see their friends more. The parents also know what is good to do and what is bad. A lot of more experienced parents will know where to go and what to do. They are awesome resources. They are better than the internet.