Mothers of disabled kids more depressed, say experts Mothers of children with intellectual or physical disabilities were likely to have a more negative emotional status due to worries over their kids. On the occasion of Mother's Day on Sunday, psychiatrists and child care experts in the city said that such mothers tended to be more depressed due to an uncertainty of their child having a "normal" life.
"Mothers, being the main caretakers of children who have disabilities, were largely found to be depressed. Depression was even higher among mothers whose child had a significant co-morbidity," said Aditi Shardul, Project Head Vihang, a multi-disciplinary group in Omkar Balwadi, which assists differently-abled children to study and develop with respect to their limitations with normal children. "The degree of the child's dependency on the mother in daily activities of life - bathing, feeding, clothing and mobility- increase the burden of caring. Caring for children with multiple disabilities increases the maternal caregiving hours. Co-morbidities such as epilepsy, cerebral palsy and psychosis make the children dependent on their caretakers for life. The presence of any chronic illness in a child with learning difficulties is found to be one of the predictors for psychiatric morbidity in the mother," she said. "It has also been found that maternal depression has a greater impact on such children with intellectual disabilities and treatment of the mother's depression may benefit the child. In fact, better quality of information given to parents about their child's illness and recovery process reduces feelings of insecurity and helplessness. Parents who received information and advice in caring for their children reported positive feelings toward caring for their children. Such an intervention helps the mothers to cope faster through the caring skills taught to them," said Shardul, who is also a psychiatrist. Maharashtra Association of Resident Doctors president (MARD) Sagar Mundada, who is pursuing a post-graduation in psychiatry said, "Parents developing depression secondary to them having a child with intellectual disabilities is called as caregiver morbidity. Many times, the chronic duration of illness of children and resulting disability coupled with the extra care that parents, especially mothers need to take, stresses them out a lot." "Autism and intellectual disability are permanent and any amount of treatment will not make the children alright, this leads to negativity in mothers and they end up in depression. The parents' sometimes subconsciously wish that their child had not been born at all. But these feelings impose guilt on the conscious mind leading to emotional turmoil within," he explained. Saying that mental illness has a huge psychological impact on the mothers, Shardul recommended medical services offered to the disabled child should also be extended to the family, especially to the mothers, who are the main caretakers. "Counselling services, treatments, and regular screening of the mothers should also be included in the protocol for management," said Mundada." Latest Comment Dr. Sanju Gambhir, a renowned Psychotherapist and Counselor, is well known for her counseling and therapy sessions that help overcome stress. According to her, people must accept and enjoy the challe... Source http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/city/aurangabad/Mothers-of-disabled-kids-more-depressed-say-experts/articleshow/52181275.cms -- m. sivakumar. P.hd. International Institute of Tamil Studies CIT Campus, 2nd Main Road, Tharamani, Chennai, 600113 We're conditioned to think that our lives revolve around great moments. But great moments often catch us unaware-beautifully wrapped in what others may consider a small one. Register at the dedicated AccessIndia list for discussing accessibility of mobile phones / Tabs on: http://mail.accessindia.org.in/mailman/listinfo/mobile.accessindia_accessindia.org.in Search for old postings at: http://www.mail-archive.com/accessindia@accessindia.org.in/ To unsubscribe send a message to accessindia-requ...@accessindia.org.in with the subject unsubscribe. To change your subscription to digest mode or make any other changes, please visit the list home page at http://accessindia.org.in/mailman/listinfo/accessindia_accessindia.org.in Disclaimer: 1. Contents of the mails, factual, or otherwise, reflect the thinking of the person sending the mail and AI in no way relates itself to its veracity; 2. AI cannot be held liable for any commission/omission based on the mails sent through this mailing list..
