Family Planning
DECISIONS TO MAKE WITH A DISABLED CHILD
LIFE AND DEATH DECISIONS WITH A DISABLED CHILD
Never having a disabled child in my life doesn’t mean that I don’t understand. It just means I haven’t experienced some of those trying times that so many of my readers have.
I have so much empathy and love for each and everyone of you. Having the patience and love it takes to care for those children through the different stages of growth and then experiencing those adult years as well. Having been apart of the Brain Injury society, I have really grown as a person with gratefulness and empathy for those that care for disabled children 24/7.
Not that it is the same, but now that we have a disabled cat, I feel that I am in some small way contributing to understanding life so that the cat can have a fulfilling life just like our other cats.
Really that’s all you can hope to do in some cases.
Of course, caring for those that are disabled once they become older, in their adult years, is also another struggle that I can see through my friends. It’s truly an act of love and caring that you can appreciate their abilities in whatever that might look like.
Of course, some of us have had to start caring for those around us after a tragic accident that has devastated their abilities and others have been born with the disability.
In whatever form it has taken, I hear from friends all the time, when does it get better? When can I have a break from all of it?
Having a family whether you have one child or 10 children is definitely a lifetime decision.
But, no one teaches us how to be prepared in case of a tragedy. So, in this blog I am going to give you a few tips on how to be better prepared when you have a disabled child in your life. How to make those important decisions easier.
DECISIONS TO MAKE
- Who would you like to have your child parented by? To make some of those daily decisions for them?
- This might be a different individual, but who would you like your disabled child to be cared for on a daily basis? Remember this might be bathing, feeding, or even bedtime.
- Who would you like to be part of their life, the disabled child’s life in some form?
- Who do you think your child would like to have around them? Who do they really love?
- How will the individual(s) afford to look after them? Have you allocated some funds for their upbringing?
- Are there any government grants or payments that you would want to have?
- In B.C. Canada, the government would cancel the disability funds if the child or adult had income or assets. So have you made any necessary adjustments so that your child can still have the pension, or income? Please check your jurisdiction on the laws around the disability incomes.
- In some cases, you may need to set up a separate trust, outside the will to ensure that the disabled child has a steady income stream without complications. Ask an attorney.
- Having a Will, and a power of attorney for the parents are of course an immediate need. It’s not a question! You absolutely without doubt need an appropriate will. Please get one!
- What kinds of things would you want to leave your child? Any of your journals, blogs or poetry maybe?
- How would you like to set up their living arrangements? Where would you like them to live as they get older?
- What medical directives have you set up for their own medical conditions?
- Notes on your own family documentation and things to do if something tragic occurred.
- Follow an App, that can make your necessary decisions to your life’s puzzle so those that are left behind can help out easily. Even to know what or how the pets are looked after.
All of these life decisions can be made easier when you know what you need to answer.
Your Backup Plan App, is your life assistant!
YOUR BACKUP PLAN
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