Handling Emotions Effectively

Identifying emotions - in other people, and in themselves - can be particularly difficult for children with special needs. They often completely miss visual cues that should let them know how others are feeling, and may respond inappropriately.

At the same time, parents of children with special health care needs say they often experience strong emotions about their child's situation and the impact it has on everyone in the family. Those emotions include fear, sadness, isolation, anger, or exhaustion.

Families By Design provides strategies for both the special needs child and the parent – to learn how to handle emotions effectively and live a more hopeful life.