Chapter 3 - Family Functions

Family Support

• Each function is related to at least one other
• defined according to its purpose (Assist families raise their children with disabilities) its content (financial assistance, professionally provided services and assistance from others) and the means of support (Family centered culturally responsive and multidisciplinary)

Impact of disability on family function

• Move toward a positive strength based approach to understanding family outcomes has been prompted by research that underscores families capacity for positive adaptation and the strengths of families. The acknowledgement of positive outcomes for families is consistent two frameworks - 1) Positive psychology 2) Family quality of life

Affection

• Characterized by:
• Exchanging verbal & physical affection
• Exchanging unconditional love

Exchanging verbal & physical affection

• Researchers have begun to consider attachment between father and child
• Many factors influence how families display affection
• Differences in parenting styles are important to acknowledge
• Professionals can play a role in encouraging family affection by affirming family & child strengths

Exchanging unconditional love

• Essential ingredient of family affection
• Expectations about a child's achievement
• Normalcy, attractiveness, appreciation, success, progress as prerequisites for unconditional acceptance & love

Self Esteem

• Parents of children with disabilities may have self esteem challenges such as - Feelings of guilt or feeling as though they caused the disability
• Families who have faced multiple challenges throughout their life (poverty, substance abuse, mental health challenges) are highly vulnerable to depression

Self Esteem Cont'd

• Some school based studies found children with learning disabilities have lower self concept than their peers without disabilities
• Students reported higher self esteem after diagnosis - enabled students to see their learning problems were not as extensive

Suggestions

• Recognize family strengths
• Let them know they have made a difference
• Confirm the student's strengths

Spirituality & Religion

• Spirituality is how people come to understand the purpose of their lives
• Not all spirituality is religious
• Typically defined as the organized patterns of beliefs, rituals, and social structures to which people adhere in fulfilling their spiritual quests

Continued....

• Spiritual beliefs from one generation to another
• Research finds children with disabilities are catalysts for a family's increased spirituality
• As families interpret disabilities and within a spiritual framework, opportunities will occur for their beliefs to be sources of comfort and motivation

Suggestions

• Be open to families interpretation of their child's disability
• Avoid assumptions and judgements about families beliefs and practices

Religion

• Many families derive tremendous instrumental and emotional support from spiritual/religious communities
• Many families have trouble finding religious communities that can respond to their child's needs

Economics

• Child's disability can create excessive costs
• 1/3 of parents of a child with a health care need reported having inadequate insurance coverage - while 10% had no coverage
• Economic impact varies on child's age, nature and extent of disability and family composition
• Presence of family member with a disability often affects parents' employment status
• Mothers who worked outside the home reported better mental health

Suggestions

• Take time to understand how a disability can affect a family and advocate for those supports
• Understand families with children with disabilities experience greater financial and material hardships

Daily Care

• Consists of meeting physical/health needs including: tasks of living, cooking, cleaning, laundry, transportation, obtaining health care when needed
• Health impairment is any condition that limits strength, vitality and alertness

Socialization

• Vital to overall quality of life for most individuals
• Many individuals with disabilities benefit from support in making friendships
• Students with disabilities have reported more loneliness, greater isolation and lower peer accpetance than others.

Suggestions

• Include socialization goals on the students IEP
• Use peer modeling to increase social networks
• Encourage participation in extra curricular activities
• Make accommodations to enable meaningful interaction
• Support possible interactions

Recreation

• Sports, games, hobbies or play that can be done indoor/outdoors as spectator or participant
• Families have their own views on role or recreation and leisure on their lives. *Influenced by personal preference or cultural beliefs

Suggestions

• Identify activities & settings that interest families and child
• Identify everyday activities that are most consistent with child's strengths, preferences & provide opportunities for participation
• Promote the child's ability to participate by reinforcing competence and teaching new skills

Education

• Typically seen as the key to success in employment, financial and quality of life opportunities
• Families from diverse cultural and linguistic backgrounds often encounter educational and social barriers in attaining equal opportunities for children

Suggestions

• Recognize that each individual holds their own perspective on the meaning of disability and the role of education in their life
• Take time to learning about a family's beliefs, values, and everyday life to ensure that you develop strategies to support the family's daily routine

Time as a factor in meeting family function

• Time is a major issue for all families
• 2/3 of all employed parents with children below the age of 18 report not enough time to meet child's needs
• Families see their responsibility extending beyond daily care

4 Barriers facing families

• Inability of professionals to coordinate their activities among themselves
• Overwhelming number of tasks parents were asked by professionals to complete
• Lack of local & accessible services
• Lack of flexible and family centered scheduling of events

How this pertains to my teaching philosophy

• This chapter opened my eyes to the family support system and the different dimensions involved. When I become a teacher I will have the necessary knowledge needed to understand how every family is different and strategies that work for one family may not be suited for another.