Making Life At Home More Comfortable For Your Special Needs Child

Parents of children with special needs are often faced with the difficult decision between caring for their children at home or opting for residential placement. Should you choose to care for your child at home, you'll likely need to make a few changes to your home and your routine to create a comfortable and safe environment for your child. Here are a few things you can do to make life at home easier for your child and your family.

Arrange For Prescription And Equipment Delivery

Depending on your child's medical condition, you may need to frequently refill prescriptions and purchase medical supplies. Arranging for automatic refills and deliveries can ensure you don't run out of medications and equipment when they are needed most. This also lets you stay at home to care for your child and spend time with him or her instead of spending time every day running these errands. You can also use delivery services for groceries, meals and household goods to make sure more of your errands get done every week without having to leave the house.

Hire An In-Home Care Assistant

Caring for a child with special needs can be physically and emotionally exhausting. While you might feel like you need to do everything on your own to be a great parent, it's completely acceptable to ask for help. An in-home care assistance can help with a range of daily living tasks, including:

• Bathing and dressing
• Preparing meals
• Dispensing medications
• Helping with physical and occupational therapy
• Light housekeeping

Your in-home care assistant also provides companionship for your child, which is especially important for kids who have emotional or developmental disabilities that make it difficult to make friends.

Give Your Child His Or Her Own Room

Providing your special needs child with his or her own room helps to create a more comfortable home life. You'll be able to keep your child's medical equipment close at hand without it being accessible to other children in the home. You can adapt the room with grab bars, bed alarms and other equipment you need to keep your child safe. The room also gives your child the privacy needed for at-home medical procedures for an added sense of dignity. Be sure to add a few fun touches to create a functional but exciting bedroom for your child, such as a television and gaming system, brightly colored bedding and kid-friendly wall decorations.

Taking care of your child at home will present you with unique challenges, but you can make life easier by making a few changes to your home and your routine to make it easier to keep your whole family healthy and happy.

Share