Relationship Rescue: Helping Your Child Learn Different Tasks

Dear Robin:

Question: I get very frustrated sometimes when trying to help my child learn different tasks. It gets to the point that I just want to simply do it myself. I know that this is ultimately doing a disservice to my child. Any helpful tips for getting through this time?

Advice: It is very easy to want to do practically everything at times for your child with special needs. For starters, it takes them a long time to accomplish small tasks. We feel that we can do it better and more efficiently. And, taking the time to explain feels like forever, and then by that time you could have done it yourself. Sound familiar? I have many parents of special needs children (and adults) who typically give in when it comes to these daily challenges. Isn’t it easier? Unfortunately, as difficult as it can be at times, we have to focus daily on empowering them and not creating more of a disability.

The thing to remember is that we are assisting them in becoming better human beings for their future. What is going to happen when we are gone? That’s why it’s so important to empower them and move them forward. It’s essential to educate the caregivers around you who are responsible for your children when you are out of your home. It takes a special caregiver to truly understand that it takes patience and perseverance to allow the special needs person to feel good about themselves for the accomplishment of their tasks.

Have a wonderful week!

God Bless

Robin Newman LCSW PC

Have a question for “Relationship Rescue”. Send us a message via @parenting.special. needs. magazine 

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Helpful Articles

• Why Chores Are Good for Your Kids and How to Get Them to Do Them to Do It
• Helping Children Succeed at Things They’d Rather Not Do
• Ask Special Parents: Learning from Chores
• The Benefits of Delegating Your to-do List to Your Kids
• A Complete Guide on Positive Behavior Support for Children With Special Needs
• Reinforcement: Improving Behavior One Interaction at a Time
• Do You Set High Expectations for Your Child with Special Needs?
• What to Expect when Establishing Expectations
• Making Learning Fun: Teaching Pivotal Skills
• Break It Down Tech Tools for Task Analysis
• Apps for Task Management & Organization
• Multitasking the Right Way: How You Can Make the Most of Your Time

This post originally appeared on our July/August 2011 Magazine