I have a friend who has a child with special needs. Her daughter is Autistic, and she(mom)has been dealing with a lot of stresses lately. I was just wondering if there was anything I could do to help her out. She's been dealing with a lot of issued with her children. She has 4 kids all under the age of 6. A lot of stress comes from dealing with the stresses of a special needs child, but also dealing with the rest of her very active children. What can I do as a friend? Thank you.
I agree with the idea of babysitting so she and her hubby could get out.. or she herself if she is a single parent..
or taking HER out for a fun afternoon or evening.. dinner and a movie.. something like that.. whatever you think she would enjoy. Just giving her the gift of being able to focus attention on herself for a change would be a wonderful gift!
what a kind and thoughtful friend you are!
Babysitting is a great way to help out. Making dinner for the family would be really nice too. You could just make a casserole or something that feeds a lot of people, but that she'll just have to pop in the oven to heat up. You could also offer to clean her house for her. I'm sure that would be a BIG help! Maybe just go spend a few days a week with her and the kids. Just to help out. It's wonderful that you want to help out. What a great friend!
Babysit for her kids while she gets some time to herself or to have fun (or to have some one-on-one time with one of her kids). And do not tell her how tough her kids were or if anyone misbehaved while you watched them. I think it is hard for parents of speial needs children to get babysitters, so they never get a break.
One of my co-workers has a friend who has a special needs child. Four times a year, she takes all the kids for a weekend at her house so that the parents can have some alone time, go out, get stuff done, have the house to themselves, etc.
Even occasional babysitting for a few hours or for the afternoon so mom and dad can get stuff done or just simply have time to reconnect would be a godsend I bet.
It is very sweet how concerne you are.... continue to be a friend and call her for support and just to say 'hi'. Maybe bring over dinner. Or maybe offer to babysit. Or see if she can get out of the house for a little bit for lunch or a movie or a manicure or something. :)
Hi C.! I am also the mother of a special needs chld and he was diagnosed with a seizure disorder a couple months ago, and also just like I suspected Autism too. The best thing you can do for her is to be there. I also have other kids and I know how hard this is for your friend. i am new to this too and would love to help out if I can. How old is her daughter? Do you think she would be interested in talking to me since I am going through the same thing? If so, you can give her my phone number. Just let me know if you want it. And you can also give her my email address which is ____@____.com. I would love to help her out as well, since i am going through this. Where does your friend live? I am in Aurora.
S. Bailey CLD
Aurora
www.tendermomentsdoula.com
