Parenting Children With Special Needs (continued)

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Educational Programs.

School-age exceptional children are included to the maximum extent possible in existing public school programs, a practice known as mainstreaming, or more recently inclusion (Leyden, 2002). These programs are supplemented by special education classes. Because all children do not profit from this educational arrangement, some may be placed exclusively in special education classes. School districts offer a variety of programs and services for exceptional children, which often change as the needs of the children change (Ripley, 2003). These services may include the following:

• Regular classroom experiences, in which the child receives special attention and an individualized program
• Resource room experiences, in which the child is enrolled in a regular classroom but goes to a specially equipped room to receive part of the daily instruction
• Consulting teacher experiences, in which the child’s instruction by a regular teacher is supplemented by a special education teacher
• Day school, in which special educational programs are conducted in a separate room or building (for cases in which the child’s needs cannot be met by including him or her in a regular classroom program)
• Residential schools, which provide education and other treatment experiences that cannot be provided through any other means (usually reserved for those children who are visually or hearing impaired, severely mentally retarded, emotionally disturbed, or severely physically handicapped)
• Hospital or home-bound programs, which serve the needs of a child who must be confined to bed or experience a lengthy convalescent period as the result of some type of disability.

Parents and family systems are especially concerned that children with special needs be provided with appropriate environments (Rigazio-DiGilio & Cramer- Benjamin, 2000). However, they typically experience mixed feelings about this issue. For example, children with special needs are protected and supported when they are placed in special education environments but miss out on important stimulation and interaction experiences because they are segregated from other students. When inclusion all but eliminates the unique attention these children require, they tend to suffer from not receiving such specialized services. The decisions about where and how to provide services for children involve complex issues. Complicating these decisions is the lack of training and experience that creates antipathy among mainstreaming teachers toward students with special needs (Ripley, 2003).

Other Services.

In addition to involving parents in the educational experiences of exceptional children, some kinds of support help the adults and other children in the family system. These families often need professional counseling, and several helpful strategies have been developed for these family members. Three methods are usually applied in these situations (Rigazio-DiGilio & Cramer-Benjamin, 2000):

1. Informational counseling occurs when children are first diagnosed and parents are informed of test results, prognosis, and treatment approaches.
2. Psychotherapeutic methods, most prominently behavior modification and reflective counseling, are taught to parents and siblings who use the methods in working with the exceptional child or sibling. Pediatric psychotherapy is offered to the affected child in dealing with emotional and behavioral problems.
3. Group therapy approaches place a number of parents or siblings into a support network in which individuals share feelings, reactions, and experiences to help each other cope with the stresses in their family systems.