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Research shows a disproportionate percentage of divorces in families with children who have special needs. Because of the complex medical, lifestyle and educational challenges these families face, divorce needs to be handled in a specific way to limit the impact on the children.
To share her expertise on this topic, I invited Mary Ann Hughes, Special Needs Divorce Coach. Mary-Ann is the mom of sons on the autism spectrum, and she was inspired after her divorce to start Special Family Transitions and become a Special Needs Divorce Coach, to help families through the overwhelm and complexities of divorce involving children with disabilities. Mary Ann wears many hats: she is a Certified Special Needs Divorce Coach, a Mediator, a Parenting Coordinator, and the Co-Director of the Special Needs Chapter of National Association of Divorce Professionals.
We discussed:
• Beyond the traditional challenges of divorce, what are the additional complexities that come into play during a divorce in a family that has children with special needs?
• How do you protect the child from being adversely affected by the divorce?
• What do parents need to think of and plan for in their parenting and financial arrangements above and beyond the usual provisions?
• How can the parents work together the support their child even after the divorce?
• How do the parents make all the important health and education decisions relating to the child after the divorce?