Parenting a child with special needs.

When parents learn that their child has a disability or a chronic illness, they begin a journey that takes them into a life that is often filled with strong emotion, difficult choices, interactions with many different professionals and specialists , and an ongoing need for information and services. Initially, parents may feel isolated and alone, and not know where to begin their search for information, assistance, understanding, and support. This News Digest has been developed expressly to respond to the information needs of parents—those who have just learned their child has special needs and those who have lived with this reality for some time but who have reached a transition point where they need new information or renewed support. This issue provides a starting point for families in their search for information and resources. We hope that it will also be useful to professionals who work with families who have a child with a disability, helping them to understand how having a child with a disability can affect the family and providing them with a ready resource to share with the parents with whom they work. In the first article, " You Are Not Alone, " Patricia McGill Smith speaks candidly to parents about the emotions that many parents of exceptional children experience and offers a perspective for living and coping with the impact of disability upon the family. The second article, " The Unplanned Journey, " delves into the areas in which parents and families often need information and offers suggestions about potential resources. Included in this article are discussions of such issues as: adjusting to this new life, accessing information and services, supporting the needs of the family, finding child care, and working with professionals.