Guest blogger Sylvia Phillips has been caring for children with special needs for 25 years. She wants to share four resources for new special needs parents she wishes she’d know about when her journey began.

Four Resources for New Special Needs Parents

I began my journey as a special needs mom more than 25 years ago. While I don’t claim to be an expert on special needs parenting, there are four things I wish I had known when my journey began that I’d like to share with you.

If you are an overwhelmed and worried young parent just starting out on your own unique journey with your very own precious and special little one…

The first and foremost thing I want new special needs parents to know is that without a doubt no one can predict what the future holds for your child with disabilities or special needs.

Doctors, therapists, and other professionals may give us their expert opinions on the subject, but when it comes right down to it, even they cannot predict at what level our kids will be functioning or what major milestones and amazing accomplishments they may achieve at any given time in the future.

While I do think we all need to be realistic about our special needs children’s capabilities, if your child has been given a disappointing prognosis, please do not despair, because a prognosis is just an opinion based on the observations of what others with similar challenges have experienced.

A prognosis cannot predict how happy your child will be in the future or foretell their future quality of life.

Never give up hope that your child will someday grow up to create a happy, satisfying, fulfilling, productive, and amazing life for him or herself!

Never give up doing and providing every resource within your power and ability to help your child succeed and become all that he or she can be!

The second thing I want new special needs parents to know is that most communities have resources available to support families on their special needs parenting journey.

Search online for and take advantage of all resources available in your community concerning your child’s particular special needs and for disabilities in general.

Join support groups and disability organizations, attend trainings and conferences, and apply for grants and other types of financial assistance.

The third thing I want new special needs parents to know is that there are government entitlements for which your child may be eligible.

Accessing government supports and services is your child’s right if he or she has an eligible disability.

Government entitlements offer such services as service coordination, respite care, community habilitation, community recreation, Social Security Insurance, Medicaid, future housing options, and more! Some states even have funds available to assist people with disabilities to purchase and maintain their own homes.

Such supports and services are designed to enrich and improve your child’s quality of life and give overworked and overwhelmed parents a break and a helping hand.

The fourth and last thing I want new special needs parents to know is that it’s never too early to start planning for your special child’s future.

Don’t wait until your child is nearly an adult to set up special needs trust funds, guardianship, stand by guardians, and future housing arrangements.

Guardianship must be set up before your child turns eighteen. The good news is that this can be a do-it-yourself job.

Many states have forms available online. All you have to do is fill them in, print them out and file them. While the thought of doing that yourself may be a little daunting, the instructions walk you right through the whole process, easy-peasy! Filling out and filing your own guardianship application will save you quite a bit of money. You’ll need to hire a lawyer to set up a special needs trust fund, however.

 All new special needs parents to know that they should:

• Never give up hope that their child will grow up to live a happy and productive life!
• Take advantage of all community supports and services.
• Apply for all government programs that their child may be eligible for and entitled to.
• Begin planning for their special needs child’s future now.

Your Advice for New Special Needs Parents

If you have more advice for new special needs parents to add to Sylvia’s, leave them in the comment box.

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