Introduction:Parents
deciding to leave their child who has special needs in the care of someone
else, either in or outside their home, may experience a variety of hesitations.
They can have feelings of guilt, anxiety, even a sense of loss of control.
Jeanne
Borfitz-Mescon (1988) suggests that a number of fears and concerns are common
to parents in this situation: that the child may not get as much attention, or
that the care may not be as good; that something may be missed; that the
caretaker or staff may not be able to comfort their child, and that he or she
might be left crying. The anxiety resulting from these very normal and real
concerns or fears can in fact cause parents to believe that respite is just not
worth it.
It
is important that a parent becomes comfortable with his/her decision and
develop the trust critical to maintaining the peace of mind necessary for
relaxation and enjoyment. One way to accomplish this goal is to help parents
begin to think about respite care and whether their family, and their child
with special needs would benefit from it. The following suggestions may help.
