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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Beat ADHD and discover how to direct their attention back to the relationship.
Is it possible for a couple to come back from the edge? The truth is that ADHD is a condition that does not discriminate based on age, the effects of ADHD are just as likely to manifest in adults. However, many adults are not even aware that their behavior could be linked to a medical diagnosis. In the final episode of this special, we’ll uncover how an undiagnosed and untreated case of ADHD can eat away and destroy a marriage, as well as what methods are out there to save your marriage from this little acknowledged condition.
Dr. Susan Orenstein received her Ph.D. in Counseling Psychology from Temple University. She is a licensed psychologist and Director of the group private practice, Orenstein Solutions, in Cary, NC. Susan specializes in adult relationship issues and has worked extensively in treating couples in situations where ADD and ADHD effect one partner. Susan has been happily married for 23 years and her husband and she co-facilitate the PAIRS couples workshop, where they continue to refresh their own communication skills in front of workshop participants. To find out more about Susan Orenstein and her practice, Orenstein Solutions, you can call 919-428-2766 for an appointment.
Be sure to listen to Part 1 of this special, Does My Partner Have ADHD?
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