Relationship savers for parents with special-needs kids
When our son was a baby, his fussiness and disruptive crying jags became a dividing point in what had previously been a strong union. While I shouldered the weight of night feedings and sleeplessness that turned into night terrors in toddlerhood, my husband retreated to the basement for rest, and escaped to work for normalcy. A bookmark had fallen out of our once-synced relationship and we were no longer on the same page?physically or mentally.
Bennett was eventually diagnosed with autism and a chromosomal abnormality and we bridged the emotional gap by researching both conditions together and working to get our son into an early intervention program.
Six years later we?ve weathered the diagnosis and grown closer as a family, but the journey?and the daily stress?is far from over. Now 10, our son still has disruptive behaviours that are an everyday struggle. Often feeling frustrated and socially isolated, my husband and I have to make an effort to connect with each other at the end of emotionally exhausting days. All relationships have their tense moments, from clashes over finances to butting heads over housework. But throw a child with special needs into the family dynamic and it creates a special kind of stress that can increase the risk of marital failure.
Raising a child with special needs is stressful
A 2010 study published in the Journal of Family Psychology found that parents of an autistic child have a nearly 24 percent chance of divorce, compared with just a 14 ...
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