Stress Management

3. What causes stress

3.2. Stress in the family

In the videos below, you will meet two women. Each of them are parents of a child with intellectual disabilities.

Parent interview 1, part 1

(14 min. 6 sec.)

Parent interview 1, part 2

(8 min. 49 sec.)

Parent interview 2

(13 min 32 sec.)

Stress in the family

In the video we will look at the stress model introduced in 'Nature of stress', but this time from a family perspective. This review of the stress model is based on a family of four who has a child with intellectual disabilities. During the presentation of the family’s stress model, it is clear how the stress of one family member affects another.

(4 min. 13 sec.)

Presentation in PowerPoint:

Stress in the family

Activity		30-60 min (can be divided)
	Should I do the activity alone?	You can do the activity alone. If you are in a two-parent family, try to do the activity together. Invite your child as well. (This will be explained later)
	After completing the activity…	You will have a better overview of the basic and situational stressors of individual family members.
	Before I start, what will I need to do this activity?	A piece of paper and a pencil.
	What do I have to do?	Identify and write down what basic and situational stressors you experience as parents and talk to each other about them. If possible, involve siblings and talk to them about the stress model and focus on how stress affects their everyday lives – both basic and situation-specific. Discuss what potential efforts could be made in your family to decrease basic stressors.
	What to do next?	Choose possible interventions to be taken and agree on who should do what for you to succeed. If possible, do the exercise again after 14 days / 3 weeks to see if the changes have made any difference in the child's level of stress.

External stressors

In the following video we will discuss the fact that in most cases a lot of different people/professionals are involved when you have a child with an intellectual disability and that this is often a major source of stress for the family.

(2 min. 3 sec.)

Presentation in PowerPoint:

External stressors

Activity		30 min.
	Should I do the activity alone?	You can do the activity alone. If you are in a two-parent family, try to do the activity together.
	After completing the activity…	You will have a better understanding of how many people your family is in contact with and whether it is possible to reduce the number.
	Before I start, what will I need to do this activity?	A piece of paper and a pencil.
	What do I have to do?	You and your partner must make a list of all the people you are in contact with regards to your child with intellectual disability. Consider the possibility of reducing the number of people involved by reducing the number of meetings, reduce the amount of contact or getting someone to help you coordinate.
	What to do next?	Consider whether the social worker should be contacted to help you coordinate.