Managing Chronic Sorrow: Perspectives on Parenting a Child With Special Needs

"When a child with special needs is born it can be life-altering and both parents and siblings can feel intermittent and ongoing sadness cued by idiosyncratic everyday events, and/or milestones that come and go without being met. These Chronic Sorrow moments are felt in tandem with the love and joy and pride we have for all our children. Standard grief therapy doesn’t address this particular experience; there is no “resolution” because the loss is ongoing. The experience of parenting a child with special needs has to be normalized and acknowledged in a supportive environment and/or group setting where optimism, humor and resourcefulness are nurtured.”

This workshop is sponsored by Bethel Special Education PTO and presented by Susan Jacoby. Susan is a board certified Masters prepared psychiatric nurse practitioner who specializesin working with the parents and siblings of children with special needs.  

Susan’s daughter Devon, who is now 16, has multiple special needs which lends to aunique and personal depth of understanding. Susan’s son Greg has been instrumentalin understanding the experience as the sibling of the child with special needs; togetherthey were the inspiration for Devon’s Place, a playground for children of all abilities, in Norwalk, CT.

This workshop will be held in the MEDIA CENTER at Bethel High School. Please RSVP at BethelSEPTO@gmail.com, and find Bethel Special Education PTO on Facebook.