The article “Children Born with Disabilities: How Families Cope” by Marlene Ritchie talks about two different families who have children with disabilities. The article tells how the two families realized that their children were disabled and what they felt and experienced after discovering these disabilities. Throughout this review, I will talk about the different coping mechanisms that families can have. I will also talk about the two children in my article and how their families coped with their disabilities. Say no to plagiarism. Get a tailor-made essay on “Why Violent Video Games Should Not Be Banned”? Get an original essay Many families have different ways of coping or responding to a disability. Some families will give up on their child being unable to care for a disabled or deformed baby, while other parents will try to provide their child with all the care they need to survive with their disability. There are usually different responses common to families. Here are four that are considered common. The first is abandoning the child because families cannot or do not want to care for a disabled baby. Today, most of the time, it is because the family does not have the financial means necessary to take care of the child. The second is that parents will try to do everything possible to care for their child and support them whatever their needs. The third is accepting the child, but being unable to cope with his disability. This usually leads to the child being neglected or rejected by the family. The fourth is that parents accept the child, learn to cope with the child's disability, and are able to understand how to help their child in whatever areas they need. The first child is Jessica, born 6 weeks premature. When a baby is born this early, their lungs are not fully developed and so they need oxygen until the lungs develop properly. Unfortunately, due to the incompetence of the attending physician, oxygen was not prepared and Jessica was unable to receive the proper care she needed as a newborn. Jessica's parents don't know if this is why Jessica has cerebral palsy and aphasia (Cerebral palsy is a disorder that affects muscle tone, movement and motor skills. Aphasia is a disorder of communication which affects the brain's ability to use and understand language.) Because of this, Jessica was unable to sit or stand at the usual age. When Jessica was eighteen months old, her parents went to the Ontario Center for Crippled Children to meet with another doctor. The doctor said they should place Jessica in an institution so they wouldn't have to take care of a child with so many disabilities. Although Jessica was disabled, her parents kept her and took care of her as best they could. Even after Jessica's mother was diagnosed with colon cancer and Jessica's father had a massive heart attack, both of her parents still do everything they can to take care of her. In Jessica's case study, her mother and father did everything they could to keep her happy and healthy. Before or after her father's heart attack and her mother's diagnosis (it's not really made clear), they moved to Toronto so Jessica could use wheeled transportation so she could become more independent. They also placed her in a group home where she stays half the week so that when the time comes, she will be used to.