Your Child’s Needs Come First and So Does your Sanity

Last week there was horrible news circulated about a woman who murdered her 6 year old autistic sonin cold blood by throwing him off a bridge. Whenever you hear of stories like this, it is disturbing to say the least.

This particular woman was a caregiver to her husband who was suffering from MS and was recovering from surgery, and her autistic son. Finances were also lacking. Yes, that can be a lot of responsibility for anyone who handle alone, especially if funds are low. However, any sympathy towards this woman is non-existent because not only did she murder her son- she had planned his murder AND even did research on how to plea for insanity. She may have been incredibly stressed and depressed, but she was definitely in her right mind in order to plan every detail of how to kill her child and to escape charges. This particular woman has no heart since this is the route she decided to take to lessen her load instead of reaching out.

The reason I am writing about this situation is because I want to encourage any parent in a desperate situation – where he or she is raising a child or children with special needs AND dealing with additional care giving responsibilities with no or very little support to reach out! If the situation is so bad to the point where he or she may literally lose sanity- please reach out. Services may be lacking in some areas. However, if the last resort is sending the child with special needs away to a foster parent or to someone who can properly care for him or her until the other issues have tapered down- then do it. Will there be judgement from others? Very likely but no one can worry about that. No one else knows about the situation other than the suffering parent. Remember that the sanity of the parent who is also playing the role of a caregiver to someone else is the most important factor. If the caregiver loses his or her sanity, then there is a risk of danger.

I’m also going to stress again that it is crucial for parents who have children with special needs to plan for their future. This is the best thing a parent can do for his or her child, other children, and for him or herself.