Hello Friends! November is National Family Caregivers Month, a time set aside to thank and celebrate family caregivers for the support and care they provide to seniors or people with disabilities or illnesses. While a good deal of attention on family caregiving focuses on caring for aging loved ones, family caregiving also includes the support and care provided by parents to children and youth with special health care needs (CYSHCN). CYSHCN are those with chronic physical, developmental, behavioral, or emotional challenges and include conditions like ADHD, asthma, autism spectrum disorder, cancer, cerebral palsy, hearing or visual impairment, developmental delay, and mental health conditions. Of the 65 million family caregivers in the United States, 16.8 million of them provide care to children with special needs below the age of 18. In addition to traditional parenting responsibilities, family caregivers fulfill disability-related caregiving needs as well, things like monitoring their child’s condition, advocating with schools and government agencies, performing treatments or therapies, preparing special diets and arranging and supervising services. Most family caregivers tackle their responsibilities day after day with little or no caregiver support. Their work is performed behind closed doors and without fanfare. They receive no vacation days and calling in sick isn’t an option. National Family Caregiving month is time to pause and acknowledge the moms and dads who are on the forefront every day in supporting their sons and daughters to reach their greatest potential and obtain their highest quality of life. And from one group of family caregivers to another, we at Parent to Parent of NYS salute you and honor you for all that you do Tanja Peters (formerly OBrocta) Regional Coordinator Parent to Parent of NYS 1200 East & West Road, Building 16 West Seneca, NY 14224 716-517-3448, 800-305-8813, Fax: 716-517-2385 [email protected]
Posted on: Tue, 03 Dec 2013 17:35:33 +0000
Trending Topics
© 2015