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Family Caregivers of Children with Mental Health Needs
I still remember the presenter at a workshop who mentioned that parents of children with challenging behaviors are the second most stressed families of children with special needs. The other is those with severe medical conditions. We’re dealing with both as my daughter has autism and is...
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Who Cares for the Caregiver? Responding to the Needs of Grandparents Raising Grandchildren
When parents are unable to raise their children, relatives are often called upon to become primary caregivers. In the U.S. approximately 2.5 million kin caregivers have assumed this role—often unexpectedly, due to parental substance abuse, mental illness, violence, domestic violence, abuse and...
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Where Do I Fit In? Elderly Caregivers of Children
Growing numbers of grandparents and (other relatives) are raising family member’s children. Historically, in some communities, it was not unusual for children to live with grandparents for all or parts of their childhoods. More recently, the arrival of drugs, consequent incarcerations, and...
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The Challenge of Caregiving: A Personal Story
Parents, spouses and other caregivers of individuals with illnesses and disabilities do not have special gifts. We are very average people who tap into our superhuman strengths that everyone has, but don’t always need to draw on. Twenty-five years ago this Fall my life changed forever. My son,...
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The Care Manager as Storyteller and Coach: Giving Voice to the Caregiver’s Reality and Opening Doors
Imagine being so consumed with the work of caregiving that an eviction notice doesn’t scare you. This true story reminds us of how dangerous it is for caregivers to feel disempowered and how powerful storytelling can change the lives of caregivers in crisis. Janice was diagnosed with neck...
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Peer-Led Support Helps Parents and Caregivers Cope with Mental Illness
When her teenage daughter was diagnosed with bipolar disorder, Deniece Chi did not know where to turn for help. A native of Belize residing in New York City, she had no experience with or understanding of mental illness. Her relatives dismissed the diagnosis and suggested that a lack of discipline...
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Parenting the Second Time Around
Imagine you are at work and the telephone rings. It is the Department of Social Services. You hear the worker on the other end of the telephone say, “Please come to the courthouse immediately. Your grandchild is being removed from the care of her parent and may be in jeopardy of being placed in...
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NAMI Westchester Family to Family Program Helps Caregivers
As a parent of an adult child living with Bipolar Disorder, I am all too aware of the stress that mental illness places on caregivers. I have struggled with the highs and lows and the overwhelming grief and the sense of loss for the life that my child could have had. When I was first pulled into...
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Me First? A Personal Account of Self Care
When flight attendants give their safety talk at the beginning of each flight- where everyone listens to their iPod or begins to read a magazine- they state: “If there is a loss of cabin pressure, oxygen masks will fall from above. If you are traveling with a child or someone who needs your...
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Helping Caregivers Understand the Challenges of End-of-Life Decision Making for Those with Mental Retardation
Birth is a beginning and death a destination. Those of us who are considered to have capacity to make decisions for ourselves are nevertheless often unprepared as we face the end-of-life. We live in a death denying culture, which frequently prevents many of us from considering our options when we...
