Transforming Common Family Dilemmas

Couples with children who have developmental and medical disabilities have in common a number of family dilemmas that they deal with on a day-to-day basis. Elysian Enterprises offers workshops and programs for both couples and professionals to help them in understanding and in dealing powerfully and resiliently with eight common family dilemmas. These eight dilemmas are:

• The dilemma of an unexpected future: We don’t know where we are headed
• The dilemma of uncertainty: We feel there is something wrong
• The dilemma of being understood: We have to explain everything all the time
• The dilemma of balance: We have increased demands on our family
• The dilemma of normalcy: We are not a “typical” family
• The dilemma of personal space: We have no privacy
• The dilemma of comparison: We feel our child is not like other children
• The dilemma of empowerment: We are feeling victimized by the circumstances

Couples that are able to shift perspectives on their life’s circumstances toward more adaptive and positive meanings tend to make their situations more manageable, have healthier attitudes toward their child’s disability, have realistic expectations of what can be done, see emerging growth and capabilities in their child, and are able to acknowledge the child’s contribution to their family as a whole. Over time, such ways of shifting the perspective through which they are viewing their life circumstances can aid significantly in helping couples heal family trauma and foster family well-being

The program offered by Elysian Enterprises, “From Challenge to Joy: Transforming Common Family Dilemmas,” highlights the transformative effect of shifting perspectives for couples who are dealing with the family dilemmas of raising a child with special needs. This program  can be designed for both couples and professionals working with children with development and/or medical disabilities.”

To learn more about these common family dilemmas, read the paper that Andy co-authored with Susan Rosano, From Challenge to Joy: Transforming Common Dilemmas for Parents Raising Children with Developmental and Medical Disabilities.