This document discusses the impact of disabilities on families. It identifies five factors that influence how families respond to a child's birth defect, including emotional stability, relationships, religious beliefs, culture and socioeconomic status. Parents may go through stages of shock, realization, retreat, acknowledgement and nonlinear responses. Having a child with disabilities can cause stress between spouses and in parent-child, sibling and extended family relationships. Families are diverse and should receive multidisciplinary, family-centered support through training for parents, families and professionals.

1. EXCEPTIONALITIES AND FAMILIES
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2. Focus 1
Identify five factors that influence the ways in which families respond to
an infant with a birth defect or disability.
Focus 2
What three statements can be made about the stages parents may
experience in responding to an infant or young child with a disability?
Focus 3
Identify three ways in which a newborn child with a disability influences
the family social/ecological system.
Focus 4
Identify three aspects of raising a child with a disability that contribute
to spousal stress.
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3. Focus 5
Identify four general phases that parents may experience in
rearing a child with a disability.
Focus 6
Identify four factors that influence the relationship that develops
between an infant with a disability and his/her mother.
Focus 7
Identify three ways in which a father may respond to a child with a
disability.
Focus 8
Identify four ways in which siblings respond to a brother or sister
with a disability.
©2011 Cengage Learning.
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4. Focus 9
Identify three types of support that grandparents and other
extended family members may render to families with children who
have disabilities.
Focus 10
Describe five behaviors that skilled and competent professionals
exhibit when interacting with and relating to families that include
children with disabilities.
Focus 11
List five goals of family support systems.
Focus 12
Identify the critical aspects of collaborative training for parents,
families, and professionals.
©2011 Cengage Learning.
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5.  14 year-old young woman
 No specific diagnosis; global delay
 Important member of her family
 Brings a great deal of joy
 Creates many challenges as well
 Family must plan ahead
 Regular family trying to cope with a difficult and
unexpected situation
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6.  Nowhere is the impact of an individual with a
disability felt more strongly than in the
family.
 Families are very diverse.
 Families are natural supports.
 Families can receive formal supports.
 Families must be examined as a whole.
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7.  Social/Ecological System
 Individual emotional stability
 Interdependent relationships
 Religious values
 Cultural beliefs
 Family socioeconomic status
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8.  Shock
 Realization
 Defensive Retreat
 Acknowledgement
 Non-linear
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9.  Spousal
 Parent-Child
 mother-child
 father-child
 Sibling
 Extended Family
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10.  Multidisciplinary Collaboration
 Family-Centered Support
 Training
 parent and family
 professionals
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11.  Professionals receive better preparation
 More support for families
 Greater community awareness
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