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Bedwetting and Your Special Needs Child
Finding the Right Approach
By Gwen Morrison
Bedwetting is a problem that many parents are faced with when raising their children. Parents who are raising special needs kids are no exception. It can be stressful on a family that is already handling the needs of their child with love and understanding. It is important for parents to ensure that they are receiving the best help and information that is available.
"In my sphere of influence, I have known parents of many special needs children who are bedwetters," says Deanna Luke of Fort Worth, Texas, a frequent speaker on the topic of parenting. "My husband and I had one daughter who was ill at birth. The doctors didn't know what was wrong with her and diagnosed that she was probably not going to live long, several times. She is now 31 years old."
Luke says that she has her thoughts on why doctors were so wrong. "I cared deeply about the outcome of her life and the quality of her life," Luke says. "That is essential. You cannot go around saying, 'Why did this happen to me?' and have the best interest of the child as a priority at the same time."
The advice, from her own experience with her child, that Luke gives parents is to choose. Either you focus on your child, her needs and how to be an advocate for her in every way – or you stay focused on yourself.
This is especially true when you are dealing with bedwetting and a special needs child. The focus can't be on how to make it better for you, the parent; it must be on how to compassionately help your child who is counting on you to do just that.
"First off, never make an issue of the bedwetting," says Yvette DeLuca, a behavioral health consultant in Glendale, Ariz. "Never punish, scold or otherwise draw negative attention to the situation."
It is vitally important that parents who are dealing with bedwetting and their special needs child do not exhibit serious negative behaviors that could further inhibit the child's development.
Want to see more?
- Dry Days Ahead: Helping Special Needs Children Learn to Use the Toilet
- Bedwetting and Special Needs Kids
- Absorbent Undergarments and Special Needs Children
- Words That Heal: Incontinence Solutions for Special Needs Kids
- Bedwetting and Summer Camp: Does Your Special Needs Child Have to Miss Out on All the Fun?
- Under Special Circumstances: Sleep Disorders and Bedwetting in Special Needs Children
- Bedwetting and Special Needs Children: How Treatment Varies with Age
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