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/ Back to home / Parent support / Disabilities or chronic conditions - support / Receiving a diagnosis for your child with special needs
Receiving a diagnosis for your child with special needsDisclaimer: This fact sheet is for educational use only. Please consult your doctor or other health professional to make sure this information is right for your child. Having a child with special needsWhenever you receive news that your child has special needs – whether it’s during pregnancy, after birth, during the infant years or later – it can be distressing and can lead you and your family to experience a range of emotions. You may feel shock, anger, denial, fear, guilt, sadness, and helplessness. The future is an unknown and planning ahead is very difficult.
Remember, there are services to help when you want or need help.
 Back to TopLooking after yourselfThe support of the people you love is one of the things which can help you through these times. While your child will understandably be your main focus, it is important that you make time for these relationships as well.
You will also need to take time out for yourself – to rest and relax and pursue your own interests. If family and friends offer to help, accept their offers. Try not to keep things bottled up – sharing your thoughts and feelings with someone you trust can help.
Back to TopRespite care and carer supportYou may be eligible to have some relief care for a number of days each year. Usually this is money paid to an informal carer that you choose. This is called carer support.
In some cases, where there is severe disability, there may also be access to some respite provided for your child in a facility. This is called respite care and needs to be assessed by a NASC (Needs Assessment and Service Co-ordination) Service. Ask your social worker for assistance or call HealthPAC, the Ministry of Health’s help line on 0800 281 222 (press 2).
If you are able to receive respite care and carer support, they can be important for you and your other children. They can give everyone a break, including your child with special needs.
You may find the following fact sheet on this website helpful:
Back to TopWhere to go for more informationOn this website
Coping when your child has a diagnosis of a chronic illness or disability NZORD (New Zealand Organisation for Rare Disorders) website www.nzord.org.nz If your child has recently been diagnosed with a disability or chronic condition, you may find the following information helpful:
A national charitable trust which provides information, advocacy and support to family, whanau and aiga caregivers.
Address: Freepost 3739, Mangonui, Far North 0557 Phone: 64 9 406 0412 Fax: 64 9 406 1036 Email: info@carers.net.nz Parent to Parent www.parent2parent.org.nz Through a network of regional groups and trained volunteer support parents, Parent to Parent provides information and emotional support to families who have a child with a disability, special need or health impairment. SKIP (Strategies for Kids / Information for Parents)
The SKIP website (a Ministry of Social Development initiative) has a pamphlet - Children with special needs. skylight www.skylight.org.nz
Provides support, counselling and information to children, young people and their families coping with change, loss and grief. Address: PO Box 7309, Wellington South
Phone: 64 4 939 6767 or Call free on 0800 299 100 Fax: 64 4 939 4759 Support groups
See Support groups on this website and look under D for the listings under disability. Back to TopAcknowledgementsThanks to Maureen Anderson and Robyn O’Neill for permission to reproduce some of the content from their booklet “Waikato specialist services for special kids: A directory for carers of children with special needs”. Hamilton Printing Works 2005.
Back to TopYour notesEndorsement
This fact sheet was endorsed by PSNZ - 28/06/2011
CopyrightFact sheets are subject to copyright. In the interests of information sharing they may be copied but acknowledgement must be given to PSNZ and Starship Foundation. © The Paediatric Society of New Zealand and Starship Foundation 2005 - 2012
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