FAMILY COMMUNITY

HOW FAMILIES CAN FIND SUPPORT FROM THE COMMUNITY

BY LARRY LANDAUER

As much as extended family and friends with typical children love and want to support parents of children with special needs, I hear it from parents regularly: "They're terrific. I love them for wanting to be supportive. But they really just don't get it."

That makes finding support in the community an absolute necessity for many parents. But where to start? Resources vary greatly across the globe, and in places where people with disabilities are not routinely included, this can be particularly challenging. Simply searching online for "support for parents of children with disabilities" may yield some great results. But here are several other options for parents to consider.

FIND YOUR LOCAL FAMILY RESOURCE CENTER

Throughout the United States and in many other countries, Family Resource Centers (FRCs) are mainstays of communities. Often funded by state or national governments, FRCs typically exist to connect families to local social services, public benefits and other support services that they may be eligible to receive. However, many can also refer parents to local parent-to-parent and sibling support groups, adaptive sports and recreation programs, as well as a multitude of other resources.

Many, such as Regional Center of Orange County's Comfort Connection FRC, provide their services free of charge to all families in the area, whether or not the children with disabilities are eligible for state-funded services and supports.

EXPLORE LOCAL CHAPTERS OF NATIONAL ADVOCACY ORGANIZATIONS

A number of national advocacy organizations, such as The Arc, which was founded back in 1950, have hundreds of state and local chapters supporting special needs families, in a multitude of ways. Depending on the chapter, this can include advocacy and actual service delivery, as well as recreational activities to facilitate social interaction, sibling resources, and more.

While The Arc focuses specifically on those with intellectual and developmental disabilities, you can find a similar range of supports and resources from well-established, specialist organizations such as Autism Speaks, the Autism Society of America, Epilepsy

A HAND UP: As much as family and friends want to support parents of children with special needs, sometimes they just don't get it.