TPC-Journal-V1-Issue1

68 The Professional Counselor \ Volume 1, Issue 1 Specifically, among the 16 (53.3%) who had received either group counseling, participated in support groups, or both, 13 (81.3%) indicated that their stress levels were somewhat or greatly reduced and 10 (62.5%) indicated that their outlook on raising their child) with special needs became somewhat or greatly more optimistic. Finally, 14 (46.7%) responded that they had gained specific knowledge about the child’s disability from receiving the services and 13 (43.3%) responded that they had gained specific skills for coping with the child’s needs. Although the respondents in this latter subgroup had participated in a wide variety of support services, it appears that most were psychoeducational in nature. Seventeen respondents (56.7%) also reported that they were either likely or very likely to seek additional services in the future. The three most selected types of services that these respondents would most likely seek were individual counseling ( n =15, 50.0%), support groups ( n =13, 43.3%), and family counseling ( n =8, 26.7%). Session schedule and frequency, cost (including transportation and session fees), and format of the service were all important factors considered in use of support services. The second part of the study was an interview with the mother of a son with cerebral palsy in order to gather information about personal experiences, particularly those contributing to her level of stress. The interview was conducted at a house close to the hospital to which she periodically brought her son for treatment. At the time of the interview, Amy (a pseudonym), the mother, was 39 years old, and Michael (a pseudonym), her son, was two years old. Amy was Caucasian, between 31 and 40 years old, married, and had one child with special needs; therefore, she was “typical” of the majority of the respondents to the survey. Specific interview questions were not prepared in advance. Rather, Amy was asked to convey her most important and/or strongest experiences and emotions as a mother of a child with special needs. A wide variety of issues were discussed during the interview, but the most pressing issue mentioned by Amy was the lack of available resources for parents of children with special needs. Amy related that large cities might have many resources available, “but especially not my little small town—the resources are so limited.” She talked about how in attempting to acquire information and resources to aid in Michael’s care, she had asked many different people. Importantly, she did considerable research on her own, primarily using the Internet. She felt that many, or perhaps most professionals did not know more than she did, regardless of their formal education and training. She gave the example of having told one of Michael’s doctors about Euro-Pēds, a facility specializing in physical therapy for children with cerebral palsy and other neuromuscular disorders. The doctor did not know about this resource. Amy also related how shocked she was when a receptionist at a local mental health facility was not aware of a “respite” fund provided by the facility. She expressed that it was “disheartening that these people are supposed to guide me, and they just couldn’t.” Then she went on to describe a situation in which parents of children with special needs could not obtain the service they wanted because they did not use the technical term: I was told that there were even situations where people who aren’t articulate would call and say, ‘I need a babysitter.’And they say, ‘We don’t do babysitting services.’ Click. Because they didn’t say ‘respite,’ they were turned away…. It’s their job to be in tune with, maybe there’s something I’m not getting here. Let me figure out what’s wrong with this person that’s calling my mental health facility. Amy was often disappointed in seeking resources and help, probably because of the lack of understanding and education among professionals. Amy lamented that resources external to the family should not cause more stress because parents of children with special needs already are overwhelmed by feelings of guilt, helplessness and stress. She believed that Michael was not the cause of her issues, but rather that the actual problems were the by-products of his having a disability: It’s not always directly related to the child, but all the side effects that how they affect you…A lot of it is just the overwhelming feeling that sometimes you wake up in the morning and say, ‘I can’t believe that he has so many problems.’And you feel sorry for him, and you feel stressed out about it. Amy also felt guilty about not being able to spend as much time as she would have liked with her other two children; the demands of Michael’s situation dominated all her plans. Amy had tried to be with her other children whenever she could, but still felt that she was not doing enough for them. Thus, she believed that Michael’s disability affected not only her, but also everyone else in the family. Amy also felt tremendous pressure when talking to Michael’s doctors: