What is the secret to making your marriage special while also parenting a child with special needs?
Approximately 10 percent of individuals within the general population have a disability. Now, with the rise of certain disabilities like autism disorders, many couples are parenting special needs children. In those instances, making your marriage special can be more like a chore. When so much extra time and energy is put into taking care of a child with special needs, what ends up happening to the marriage?
Becoming a parent for the first time is a challenge and usually involves a degree of adaptation. For parents with a special needs child, however, adaptation can be much more difficult. These parents must learn to adjust to the unique and sometimes scary path of raising a child with a disability. And with the many extra demands that it places upon parents as individuals, having any time to work on the marriage might seem impossible.
Our guest today is Dr. Barbara Lowe-Greenlee, a licensed psychologist with Greenlee Psychological & Support Services in Chapel Hill, NC. She works to help families with special needs children succeed and thrive despite the tough challenges they face. To find out more about Barbara and her practice, visit her website or call (919) 824-5743 to make an appointment.
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Can we become stronger while managing ADHD within a marriage?
It’s no secret that navigating and maintaining a marriage can be difficult sometimes. But what if your spouse has ADHD or is undiagnosed and living with ADHD? In either case, communication is extra challenging and can seem impossible at times. Oftentimes the partner dealing with ADHD within a marriage is inconsistent, and that can lead to tension. If your partner can be forgetful about simple household tasks, or seems uninterested or distracted more often than not, he or she might be living with ADHD or another attention deficit condition.
Though the issues are small, they often build up to be one large problem in the relationship. Having a partner with ADHD can create a level of frustration that’s hard to understand, but luckily there is a fix. Nowadays, we know a lot more about the characteristics of ADHD. And that makes treatment and maintenance much easier. Today, psychiatrist Dr. Jennie Byrne of Cognitive Psychiatry of Chapel Hill is our guest, and she has answers to some of the burning questions about conditions like ADHD within a marriage.
To find out more about Jennie and her practice, or to seek help for a similar situation, visit her website or call (919) 636-5240 to schedule an appointment.
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Planning a romantic vacation for couples does not have to be a battle royale.
If you’re like most couples, there just isn’t enough time in the day to do everything that needs to get done. Between work and kids, you’re lucky to squeeze in time to brush your teeth – let alone take a vacation together. You have to balance your professional and home life without dropping the ball on anything important. Learning to manage the day-to-day can be a huge challenge for most people, making vacation seem impossible.
Our guests today are the brains behind a leading couple’s travel blog, 1000 Places to Fight before You Die. Mike Willits and his wife Luci encourage busy couples to get out and see the world together. It’s time to leave the kids behind and let the relatives do all the heavy lifting. Reconnect and strengthen your relationship by planning and making an annual escape. Whether this means an exotic trip to the other side of the planet, or discovering a neighboring state, the limitless possibilities mean great things for your marriage. From taking those bucket list dreams and turning them into a reality, Mike & Luci Willits break down the fine art of vacation for couples.
To find out more about Mike & Luci Willits, as well as the 1000 Places to Fight Before You Die, visit their blog.
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