Special Needs Children Require Special Considerations when Parents Divorce

Divorce affects every family member, but it can be especially difficult for families with special needs children.

In the process of obtaining a divorce, couples will also work details involving child custody, visitation and support arrangements. Generally, the best interest of the child is taken into consideration when arriving at these arrangements. Usually, unless circumstances cause the arrangements to be challenged, they will remain in effect until the child reaches 18, finishes school or is otherwise emancipated. This is not necessarily the case, however, when the child in question is afflicted with an emotional, physical or medical disability.

Parents of special needs children face other considerations when they are divorcing. Because special needs children often need physical, emotional and financial support well past the age of majority, and because they sometimes have extreme difficulties adjusting to frequent changes in their environment, special considerations need to be made regarding their custody, visitation and financial support.

What these special considerations may entail is spelled out more in the article, “When Parents of Children with Disabilities Divorce,” found on the Medical Home Portal website.