Hope For Challenges of Children with Special Needs

Sharon Gibson has written, "The Seven Habits of Highly Effective Parents Raising Children with Special Needs." modified from Stephen Covey's, "Seven Habits of Highly Effective People." We strongly supported these Habits as parents of Jeff and Jennifer. They are intertwined within stories in "Journey With Jeff: Inspiration for Caregivers of People with Special Needs," written to encourage other parents, families and friends, so they'll not feel alone! Gibson writes about them on "About.com: Special Needs Children."~~~In short, these Seven Habits are: (1) Be proactive. Educate yourself. (2) Begin with the end in mind -- the next 10 minutes, the end of the day, 20 years down the road. (3) Put first things first. Your life doesn't need to be completely defined by your child's disorder. You are still a family. Don't forget other family members. (4) Think WIN/WIN. Help others understand how helping your child will help them. (5) Seek first to understand, then to be understood. You may need to educate, educate, educate. (6) Synergize -- Connect with other parents and families. You are not alone. (7) Sharpen the saw. Take care of yourself -- spiritually, mentally, physically and socially. Yes! YES! YES!!! Check these out in full on www.abaresources.com/familycorner/