Raising Special Kids (Parent Guidebook): A Group Program for Parents of Children with Special Needs

Raising Special Kids is a mutual support program that allows parents to share stories and explore what works and what doesn't in their unique relationships between their children and families. Each chapter presents a central theme that weaves together their own needs and the needs of their child.

The first four chapters address feelings and thoughts: how you learned about parenting, what you expected your child would be like, and how you have handled other challenging situations in your life. This will require an honest revisiting of your own experiences as a child and an exploration of what many parents simply take for granted about their own lives. By responding to open-ended questions, you will be invited to think about and record these feelings and thoughts.

The second part of the program, chapters 5 through 8, will offer you a chance to raise and examine more specific issues about your life with your child. Discussion will focus on particular challenges you face as a parent. New listening skills will be offered. Developmental information will be provided to assist you in working with these challenges. You will be given an opportunity to practice new ways of seeing your child separate from the emotional intensity of your own experience.