(I’M)Possible: Caring for Children with Special Needs
BY PAMELA JENN AMPARO | DECEMBER 2, 2023
Graphics by Marvin Cabalhin
Photo from Freepik and Pamela Jenn Amparo
“Woo to the Young to the Woo! Dong to the Geu to the Ra-mi!”
Are you familiar with this chant? If you answered yes, and squeezed in the show’s title, then you just proved how much of an avid viewer you are. For those who might be confused, this chant was made famous by the two best friends from “Extraordinary Attorney Woo”—a K-drama series following the corporate life of a young lawyer diagnosed with autism.
Here is another one from a more recent K-drama. Try to also guess where it is from.
“VIVA LA VIDA!” (LONG LIVE LIFE!)
Did this strum your memories with a refreshing watermelon? You got it! The line was from the K-drama series “Twinkling Watermelon'' which follows a child who time travels back to 1995 and discovers his deaf parents’ past.
These two shows earned high audience ratings during their respective air time. Both beautifully narrates all the ordinary and extraordinary things that people with disabilities (PWD) experience in their daily life. However, they are not the only ones facing life differently. There are also people who willingly take care of them – like how it is in reality.
The United Nations International Children’s Emergency Fund (UNICEF) reported that there are approximately 1.6 million Filipino children with disabilities as of 2022. Unfortunately, the Department of Education said that 232,975 Filipino learners with disabilities have been studying in regular schools instead of special education (SPED) classes for the academic year 2016 to 2017 alone.
Children with disabilities have diverse cases that’s why they need extra helping hands to seize their everyday life. Thus, this is where caregiver figures come to the rescue. The immediate support of the children are obviously, you, their loving and selfless super protectors.
Behind the smiles that you show to the kids, is the overwhelming feeling of anxiety. Parents of children with disabilities often combat emotional turmoil due to the grief and guilt of the feeling that they did not fulfill the primary needs of their child.
In order to lessen the burden you may be feeling, these 4S will help you in taking care of your little angels.
Struggle acknowledgment and listening
No one should underestimate the power of active listening; the same greatly applies with validating children with disabilities.
As their primary caregiver, it is important that you are more than willing to listen to your child’s sentiments about their opinions and what they feel. Through this, they will gradually learn how to explain it to others and not be ashamed about it. At the same time, it provides you a complete understanding and assurance on what they are going through, which makes it easier for you to assess their development and share it with a developmental doctor–usually a pediatrician.
Socializing with their peers
Letting your child learn about playing and friendship help establish their socio-emotional, physical, and communication skills. They would also feel included and appreciated which will eventually help improve their self-esteem.
Spend quality time with them
Children are stimulated with everything in their surroundings. Make time for your kids even a few hours in a day, yet allotting a day for them is much more appreciated. Try to converse with them, explaining things in simpler ways, so that you will also be aware of what things can ignite their interests. Most importantly, this also helps with their brain development.
Sign language
Sign language helps children with visual stimulation for speech development. When there are things they sometimes cannot verbalize, sign language can reduce their frustration by giving them more opportunities to communicate. Lastly, it also creates a bridge for children with hearing impairment, autism, down syndrome, apraxia, cerebral palsy, Language Learning Disability (LLD), and more to the world.
‘Ma, ‘Pa, Lola, Lolo, Ate, Kuya, Tita, Tito, no one really knows how difficult it is to care for a child with disabilities. You probably are unaware of how much you have done already and that’s something that you should be proud of. Remember what they say in “Twinkling Watermelon?”
Hold your hand up as you make an “L” with your thumb and stick up your index finger, then shout, “VIVA LA VIDA!”
