Monday, 01 March 2010
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Don't Neglect Your "Health" While Raising an Autistic Child
It can be difficult to take care of yourself when raising an autistic child. I spend most of my time and energy on both of my kids. With my son, I am also taking him to appointments several times a week. I am homeschooling him, too. For the last couple of years, I have been putting off going to the doctor to have a skin abnormality checked out. I would tell myself that it isn't important. My mother and sister would insist that I needed to get it checked out, and I would dismiss their concerns.
The bottom line was that I didn't have the money or time to have it checked. Actually, that's not quite true. I didn't want to spend the money or take the time to have it checked. If I did, then I would be doing something for myself, instead of taking care of my kids. I feel guilty whenever I spend money on myself or do something just for me.
I know. My logic was a little screwed. If I don't take care of myself, who will? If I don't visit the doctor for regular checkups, something that is minor could turn into something serious. Then what? What happens to my kids?
I finally went to the doctor. At the appointment, four spots on the side of my nose were biopsied. The doctor is also having an appointment made for surgery to remove a basil cell carcinoma. The results of the biopsy results won't be back until next week.
Bottom line, I should have gone to the doctor when I first noticed the skin abnormality. I still feel bad about what this is going to cost my family. I am going to feel guilty when my husband has to take a day off of work to take care of the kids, while my father drives up and takes me to have the surgery. I know that I shouldn't it, but it is who I am. I am glad that this is being taken care of, and I pray that the biopsy results will be fine.
Given all of what I have just written, I urge all parents to take care of yourself. Take the time to visit your doctor for routine exams. Don't put it off due to time or money. In the end, you could be hurting your family a lot more if you don't take care for yourself.
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About the Author
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- From: autismlearningfelt
- About Me: I am a WAHM, with two children. My daughter is 5 and my son is 10. My 10 year old son is diagnosed with Autism. I have a home-based business, www.learningfelt.com . Great creative and fun activities with felt for children. This blog is for sharing my experiences raising my son, product reviews, giveaways and sharing whatever items I find and want to share with all my readers. Read more at my blog: http://www.autismlearningfelt.com/
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Comments (8)
Clinton Kelly from What Not to Where said something once that I will try to remember if I'm ever a parent. I don't remember the exact wording but this was the message:
You love your children and take care of them. What's important to them becomes important to you. YOU are the most important person in their lives so why don't you take care of yourself?
By taking care of ourselves, we will be better able to take care of our children. I hope the surgery and healing process go well. Don't feel guilty about taking care of your children.
I definitely have that problem with taking care of the kids before taking care of myself. Avoiding doing things for myself has seem to come a custom since I had my baby and finding out that my middle son is autistic. It's just a lot of time and energy that I feel can be focused on my three children. Thank you very much for this blog.
I agree that the parents need to take care of themselves. They need to be healthy to be there for their children and their needs.
I'm sorry that you are having medical problems. Parents with special needs children like often their children above their own. While I admire their love and selflessness, it is important to take care of their health to able to function well and take care of the family.
If you are not doing the most basic stuff to keep your health up, who would take care of your children's health problems when they seriously need you?
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I think both parents and child's health are important, and in order to function adequately to meet the child's need, the parent must be in relatively good health.
Yes, I agree fully that the health of both parent and child is extremely important for the overall welfare of everyone.
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