How to start up your own support group for parents and children with learning disabilities.
Coming to terms with the fact that a child has a learning disability is an often difficult and emotional struggle for many parents. Feelings of loneliness and isolation not only pervade the child's sense of self, but also impact the parent's emotional outlook as well. While no magic elixir exists to remedy the situation, support groups are a very effective means to help both the child and the parents cope with the unique challenges faced by those with a learning disorder.
Starting a support group for children with learning disabilities requires a little time and effort, some ingenuity, and of course, networking. Since there are infinite ways in which to approach starting your own support group, I'll address some of the more common methods employed in such a pursuit.
The first order of business when starting a child learning disabilities support group is to get the word out to potential members. Listed below are the most effective ways to achieve maximum exposure.
1. The best place to start your advertising campaign is in public places. Begin by creating fliers and posters to be distributed in such public places as schools and community libraries, community recreational centers, and any other local place or places where children and/or teens like to hang out and congregate.
2. Another effective means to advertise is through the local newspaper and other local publications known to have a high level of circulation in your community. In some instances, this form of advertising may require a fee, however, free advertising can sometimes be obtained by contacting the editor and asking if the paper would like to do a story on the new group or perhaps on the broader subject of child learning disabilities and include your new group as a local resource.
3. The Internet is another excellent source in which to advertise your new group. For those possessing a great deal of technical saavy, creating and maintaining a web page dedicated to the new group is invaluable. Not only will a web page serve as a promotional tool, but group members will also benefit from the site. If your techical skills don't include web design, research existing groups and related organizations on the Internet and simply ask if they would consider listing your new group on their site. Oftentimes, organizations list related support groups on their web pages.
Okay, now that you have your support group started, it is important that you not only maintain the current membership of the group, but you grow the group membership as well. This two-fold objective can be achieved in a number of ways.
1. Make sure to fully involve the new members in the group. If a member feels divested in a group, he or she is less likely to quit or discontinue coming to the group meetings. Involve each member of the group into the activities by scheduling the meetings at different member's houses. This will make all of the members, especially new members feel that they are an integral part of the group, and thus feel that their membership is vital.
2. It is also important to make some aspect of the group's meeting fun or engaging. This can be achieved through scheduling a new activity for each meeting that doesn't necesarily deal with the seriousness of the group's purpose. In addition, snacks and refreshments are always a welcome addition to any group meeting.
3. Finally, networking through word-of-mouth is important in helping the group to grow. Encourage members and supporters of the group to discuss the group with others in the community that they feel would benefit from participation in your child learning disability support group.
