Links to services that support parents
Government-funded support extends to people with a disability—helping them when needed with independent living—but the assistance does not typically extend to helping parents, unless the child has a disability too.
That's why the support of extended family and friends is so important.
Parents with a disability often need to adapt ways of doing things. Some successful strategies are shared on the Yooralla Parents with a Disability community project website.
Disability Online brings together reliable links to services that may help you in your parenting:
- Discipline
- Family planning
- Parenting skills development
- Playgroups and parenting support groups
- Relationship counselling
- Safety in the home.
Discipline
The Positive Parenting Program—better known as Triple P—provides parents with practical knowledge to deal with children's common behavioural issues.
Courses run throughout Queensland. Individualised help can be accessed through Triple P accredited professionals statewide, as well as the Triple P Centre at Indooroopilly in Brisbane. You'll also find helpful parenting tips on the Triple P website.
Australian parenting website Raising Children Network includes video and tips on how to encourage good behaviour in children.
Family planning
Family Planning Queensland (FPQ) provides advice on contraception and preconception, pregnancy testing, counselling and referral.
FPQ has fact sheets on pregnancy, contraception choices and sterilisation (male and female). Find a Family Planning service near you.
'Probably the hardest decision I've had to make is not to have more children. I didn't know of a genetic risk before my son was born,' says Harmonie, whose son, now 5, has the same physical disability.
Parenting skills development
The Raising Children Network has parenting in pictures resources. These step-by-step guides cover essential parenting from babyhood through to teenage years, on subjects as changing a nappy and breastfeeding to tying shoelaces and dealing with cyber-bullying.
Some community agencies' family support programs help parents develop the skills they need. The Australian Red Cross, for example, has a family support program geared at parents of children aged 0-8 years in the following Queensland locations:
- Warwick and district, including Stanthorpe, Allora, Clifton and Killarney areas, Toowoomba and South West region
- Vincent, Aitkenvale, Heatley, Currajong and surrounding suburbs in Townsville North Queensland region
- Taigum, Zillmere, Geebung, Nundah and Banyo and surrounding suburbs in Brisbane city region.
Visit the Australian Red Cross website for more information on its family support program.
Parentline—1300 30 130—provides Queenslanders with parenting support, counselling and parent education for the cost of a local call, 7 days a week between 8am and 10pm. The Parentline website explains the service and has useful tips on parenting babies, toddlers, children and teens.
Playgroups and parenting support groups
Many parents with disability felt isolated and excluded from participating in mainstream services like playgroups that provide social interaction for both parents and small children.
Playgroup Queensland has a network of playgroups throughout Queensland for families with babies and young children not yet at school.
- Its Happy Hands Playgroup in Townsville is specifically for families with a deaf or hearing impaired family member-parent, child, sibling or grandparent.
- A supported playgroup in Ipswich is specifically for families with disabilities or mental health issues.
Contact Playgroup Queensland to find out about a play service near you.
Vision Australia runs quality living groups, weekly phone and face-to-face groups of like-minded people sharing experiences, information and strategies. These are not, strictly speaking, parent support groups. For more details, call 1300 847 466 and ask to speak with Queensland's quality living coordinator.
Relationship counselling
Parenting can add stress to relationships.
Sue Miller from Relationships Australia says these 5 essentials help maintain healthy relationship:
- Communicate—many couples stumble over 4 bad habits when speaking and listening: criticism, defensiveness, stonewalling and contempt
- Make time—for you and your partner
- Tune in—become an expert on your needs, and your partner's needs and ways you both meet them
- Look on the bright side—arguing is okay as long as you can find 5 positives for every 1 negative
- Manage your differences—learn to view your differences as resources and to recognise your style of dealing with conflict
Counselling can help overcome what Sue Miller calls "couple gridlock". Lifeline's service finder may help you find a local community service providing individual or family counselling.
Some private psychologists specialise in couples' therapy. Find a psychologist near you. Ask whether your situation is covered by Medicare's better access to mental health services initiative.
'Consistency, communication and trust in your partner: they're essential for good parenting. The smallest difference can make the biggest change,' says Gerrard, dad to 2 teenagers.
Safety in the home
Kidesafe Queensland's fact sheets include a home safety checklist.
'Our backyard is fenced with lots of activities for the kids to do. It's a space I have confidence in letting them play. A park without a fence is extremely stressful. You can't see the dangers. You can't see what's going on around you. Your child only needs to be a few steps away, engrossed in something, to be "lost",' says Karen, the mother of 2 sighted children.
