Resources
Research indicates psychosocial support and illness education provided to children at an age-appropriate level significantly helps children, and also eases stress within the family, improves parent’s depressed mood, and increases the parent’s ability to focus on treatment and well-being.
W&W helps children and families by 1) providing an age-appropriate understanding of the illness, its treatment and side effects; 2) facilitating expression of feelings related to the changes in the family due to illness; and 3) identifying individual coping skills to help ease feelings of sadness, anger, etc. It is our goal to help children and their parents understand the changes occurring in their families due to illness, gain coping skills, and increase communication so that they may emerge from a family health crisis stronger than when they began.
A child's age affects the way he or she may react to illness in the family. Click here for information about developmental stages for children facing the illness of a family member, and tips for how you can help.
