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Helping Kids Cope When a Parent Has a Stroke
Oct. 6, 2005 -- When a parent has a stroke, what's the best way to help children cope?
Researchers offer four suggestions in the journal Stroke:
- Check how well (or not) kids cope when the parent's stroke rehabilitation starts.
- Tend to the mental health of the parent who didn't have a stroke.
- Watch how the healthy parent feels about the marriage.
- Involve families in stroke rehabilitation.
"Based on our findings, we advise a family-centered approach in stroke care in which attention should be given to children's adjustment," write the researchers.
They included Anne Visser-Meily, MD. She works in Utrecht, the Netherlands at the Rehabilitation Center De Hoogstraat and the Rudolf Magnus Institute of Neuroscience.
In a news release, Visser-Meily adds some more tips. "Health care providers should give these children information, including names of web sites about young caretakers, books, etc.," she says.
"Give the parents -- both the healthy parent and the patient -- advice to deal with the children's feelings. And advise school teachers of how they might better deal with these children," says Visser-Meily.
Family Fallout
The researchers interviewed 82 children (aged 4-18 years) and their parents (55 stroke patients and 55 spouses).
The stroke patients were about 46 years old, on average. They were moderately disabled by stroke and got inpatient stroke rehab. The kids were 13 years old, on average, and half were girls.
Interviews were done three times: soon after inpatient stroke rehabilitation started, two months after rehabilitation ended, and a year after the stroke.
Kids' depression, sleep problems, fatigue, and behavior problems were noted. So were the healthy parents' feelings.
Early Impact Important
The best way to predict how well the kids functioned a year after their parent's stroke was to see how well those children were doing soon after the stroke.
"This result may suggest an enduring impact of parental stroke on a child's functioning," write the researchers.
"Identification of children at risk for long-term problems can best be done by screening children in the early phases, when they are visiting their parents in rehab and it is relatively easy to speak, interview, or assess them," says Visser-Meily, in the news release.
Some kids coped better as time passed.
About half of the kids (54%) showed one or more behavior problems or depression in the first interview. That figure dropped to 23% when rehabilitation ended and then notched up a bit to 29% by the stroke's anniversary.
Handling Kids' Reactions
It might help to teach kids what to expect after a parent's stroke, the researchers note.
"Ensuring that these children obtain information about the consequences of stroke and its impact on the family and advice about how to deal with their feelings might support the adjustment process," they write.
"At a later stage, children with persisting adjustment problems can be given professional help if needed," the researchers continue.
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