Videos
Nathan's Story
Nathan was diagnosed with Cerebral Palsy as an infant. Now approaching young
adulthood, Nathan's parents grapple with the issue of finding placement for him
outside of the home. After serving as her son's primary caregiver for most of
his 17 years, Nathan 's mother ended up in the hospital suffering from the
physical and emotional strain of being on call 24 hours a day. She and Nathan's
father have come to an agreement to place Nathan in a group home or in foster
care. But having arrived at that difficult decision, they discover "it may
be years and years before a slot opens up for Nathan." Nathan's Story
addresses issues of:
- Physical and emotional toll on caregivers
- Death of the dream child
- Loss of identity for the caregiver
- Importance of support from educational systems
- Why inclusion in the mainstream classroom can be important
- Marital stress on families raising children with disabilities
- When respite care is too little, too late
-
Lack of options for placement outside of the home
