{"id":13109,"date":"2024-06-28T10:30:00","date_gmt":"2024-06-28T09:30:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.familyfund.org.uk\/?p=13109"},"modified":"2024-06-10T16:28:25","modified_gmt":"2024-06-10T15:28:25","slug":"decision-making-children","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.familyfund.org.uk\/news\/decision-making-children\/","title":{"rendered":"Making decisions for your child"},"content":{"rendered":"

We all make hundreds of decisions a day. But parents also have to make decisions on their child’s behalf. Whether it’s deciding what they’ll eat tonight, or decisions impacting their health and wellbeing. This month, we spoke with families raising disabled and seriously ill children about how difficult this can feel sometimes.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Irina has to ‘guess a lot’ when making decisions for her children<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

Irina’s sons, David and Eli are both autistic and non-verbal:<\/p>\n\n\n\n

“As David and Eli’s mum, one of my struggles is always thinking of how I can help my boys more. They can’t tell me what they need or want. So I have to guess a lot or use my own intuition. It’s hard to watch them struggling to express themselves sometimes. We used our most recent Family Fund grant towards horse riding lessons. As soon as I saw the boys interact with the horses, I was shocked. They were so calm! They just sit on the horse and give a big smile. As a parent, it’s the best thing ever to see your child enjoying something. It felt like a milestone to me, seeing them so happy and finding something they love.”<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"Irina,<\/figure>\n\n\n\n

Mason uses his Family Fund grant to communicate his needs<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

Jess and Kris’ son, Mason, has cerebral palsy and he is non-verbal. Jess spoke to us about how Family Fund’s support has enabled them to communicate better with their son, using specialist technology.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

“Family Fund gave Mason a grant for an Eyegaze. This allows Mason to communicate using his eye movements. So we can give him choices and he becomes less frustrated when he’s trying to tell us something. We use this when we’re going to a café, so he can choose which slice of cake he’d prefer for example. It allows us to communicate better with our son.”<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"Jess,<\/figure>\n\n\n\n

Amanda feels the ‘weight of making decisions’ for her child<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

Making decisions on someone’s behalf is hard. Connor is 11 years old, and has learning disabilities, autism, and sensory issues. Amanda, his mum, told us:<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\n

“It is difficult when you see children of the same age as your child, expressing their will. Connors’ decisions are made by us, his parents, and they will continue this way. Connor can’t see if something is dangerous or negative to him. Sometimes we make decisions that Connor doesn’t agree with, but you know it’s the right one. Even if that upsets him. The weight of making decisions on your child’s behalf is heavy, but necessary.”<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"Connor<\/figure>\n– Amanda, Connor’s mum<\/cite><\/blockquote>\n\n\n\n

If you have your own experiences to share about decision-making for your disabled or seriously ill child, or any other aspect of your family life, share your story <\/a>today, to help other families feel heard.<\/p>\n<\/body><\/html>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

We all make hundreds of decisions a day. But parents also have to make decisions on their child’s behalf. Whether it’s deciding what they’ll eat tonight, or decisions impacting their health and wellbeing. This month, we spoke with families raising disabled and seriously ill children about how difficult this can feel sometimes. Irina has to […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":3,"featured_media":13247,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"_oasis_is_in_workflow":0,"_oasis_original":0,"_oasis_task_priority":"2normal","_mixd_wp_review_post_reminders":[],"_mixd_wp_review_date":0,"footnotes":"","_links_to":"","_links_to_target":""},"categories":[7],"class_list":["post-13109","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-family-stories"],"acf":[],"yoast_head":"\nMaking decisions for your child - Family Fund<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"Making decisions on behalf of your disabled or seriously ill child or young person can feel daunting. 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