First Things First

• When dealing with cerebral palsy or other learning disabilities, it’s important to establish good working relationships with the people in your circle and in your child’s life. These are your family, your friends and your peers among parents. These are the people who will stand by you when you need them.
• Trust and follow your own instincts and your own judgment. If in doubt, rely on your circle for advice.

Building on Our Children’s Strengths

How can we, as parents, build on our children’s strengths when dealing with cerebral palsy or other learning disabilities?

• By exposing our children to the arts, in whatever forms interest them—music, drawing, theatre.
• By taking them on trips—wherever we go, we can give them educational experiences.
• By developing their natural interests—whatever they may be, we can help them learn.
• By giving them access to everything good in life, and direction so that they can develop their interests and learn to speak in their own authentic voices.

How can we support our children as they develop their individual God-given abilities?

• Through communication and asking them questions, we can learn exactly what our children’s interests and abilities are.
• Through giving them our undivided attention we can give our children an awareness of who they really are and of how important they are to us.

Self Determination
How can we help children with cerebral palsy or other learning disabilities become more self-reliant and self-confident?

• By letting them learn from their own experiences, good or bad.
• By not coddling them.
• By letting them try new things and experience these new things fully and fearlessly.

Self Esteem

How can we teach our children with cerebral palsy or other learning disabilities to feel good about themselves and their own abilities?

• Praise them when they do something right.
• Forgive them when they make mistakes.
• Be flexible and listen to their opinions and desires when making decisions.

How can we help our children develop self-esteem?

• By being solution-oriented–looking for answers–not succumbing to the delusion of dead ends in a world of possibilities.
• By allowing our children their right to make their own decisions, so that they develop sound judgment.
• By creating and offering win-win ways of handling every difficult situation, so that they learn to see life from multiple perspectives and in a positive way.
• By teaching our children the proper terms to describe their feelings, so they can articulate their feelings.
• By allowing our children the opportunity to repeat successful experiences, so that they become accustomed to success.
• By creating avenues of disagreement that lead to agreement rather than to stalemates or bad feelings, so that they learn how to negotiate and to compromise.
• By helping our children set realistic goals for themselves, so they can succeed in life.
• By using rewards to shape positive behaviors, rather than relying on punishment or disapproval, so that they learn to pursue success rather than flee failure.
• By letting our children learn to deal with the realities of the unpaved roads of life, so that they learn to cope with difficulties. We cannot pave every road for our children.
• By getting help when we need it, so that our children learn that even we parents sometimes need help and are not afraid to ask for it. None of this is easy. We all need help from time to time.

Communication
Our children with cerebral palsy or other learning disabilities struggle with communication, even more than most children. How can we help them learn to communicate?

• By listening to them–communication is a two-way street–it’s not just you telling them–it’s mostly about you listening to them.
• By using the highest level of tact, and not attacking our children when we communicate our negative feelings to them.
• By teaching our children to identify their feelings with a wide vocabulary of terms–happy, sad, depressed, fearful–we need to teach them the words they need to articulate their feelings.
• By remembering that all misbehaviors have triggers, and that we may unwittingly pull them–misbehavior does not appear from nowhere.
• By watching for misinterpretations of nonverbal communication, both from us and from your child. A frown may mean that someone is concentrating. It doesn’t always mean anger or disapproval.
• By using written communication when appropriate–such as when writing a schedule of tasks or responsibilities.
• By loving our children and letting them know how much you love them at every opportunity. They need to know that you love them before they can thrive on it.
• By making ourselves approachable. Your children will never tire of hearing you tell them that you are there for them, that you love them. They need to know that no matter what happens, they need to tell you, and that you will listen to them with an open heart and a calm, wise, compassionate mind.

Homework

Our children with cerebral palsy or other learning disabilities  may struggle with academics. How can we help them deal with homework?

• Set up a homework schedule, so your child has some structured time that helps them succeed with homework.
• Rank assignments in order of importance, and have them do the most important, first.
• Do not sit next to child while doing homework unless they request it. Give them space and an opportunity to do it on their own.
• Check correct problems first so that you start each session on a positive note.
• Never let homework drag all night. If your child looks tired, confirm that they have done enough. There’s no reason to exhaust a child who is already stressed by homework. If you can, reschedule homework time to start earlier, while your child has more energy, if you can get home from work in time for that.
• Discuss homework questions before your child reads each chapter, so your child knows what the important points are and is primed to look for them.
• Organize math problems into manageable groups around themes that your child can comprehend. If you have trouble with this, seek help from your child’s teacher. Math is hard for most people. Get the help you need.
• Make audio recordings of textbook chapters, so your child can repeatedly listen to your voice reading the chapter while reading the printed text. Hearing your voice can make the text comprehensible. This can take a lot of time, but it can be worth the effort.
• Don’t give negative nonverbal messages during homework sessions, and if you sense your child giving you a negative nonverbal message catch it and respond positively with encouragement.
• Avoid finishing assignments for your child. Children need to learn that they can finish their own assignments, even if they cannot answer every question correctly.
• Be aware of the signs of serious learning disabilities. If you know what the signs are, then you can deal with the disabilities if they occur, and you can move ahead if they do not.
• Check your child’s homework every evening so your child does not turn in incorrect answers the next day.
• Make sure your child feels good at the end of each learning experience.