How Does Juvenile Parkinson’s Affect Your Child?

Juvenile Parkinson’s affect your child. We always think of Parkinson’s as an illness that affects the older population, but we’ve seen that juvenile Parkinson’s also exists. Many of those who have this illness have young children who may be emotionally affected by watching their parent suffer. If you want to know how juvenile Parkinson’s affects your child’s emotions, keep reading.

Even though there has been an increase in the number of juvenile Parkinson’s cases over the past few years, there are still very few studies that look at the emotional impact or worries that this illness might cause in the children of someone who suffers from juvenile Parkinson’s. Two studies that did look into these affects were conducted by the Royal Free and University College Medical School, University College of London.

How does juvenile Parkinson’s affect your child?

The director of the study, Dr. Anette Schrag, is sure that the emotional impact on the children of someone who has Parkinson’s is quite serious. All of the kids wanted to understand the illness fully and they were very worried about the progression of the disease. They wanted to know what to expect.

Aside from these, the children also had other concerns: Will it get worse? Will my mom/dad continue to have a hard time? Can I still count on them to help when I need something? Who will take care of me?

How does Juvenile Parkinson’s Affect Your Child?

Answering the question how does juvenile Parkinson’s affect your child, you should know that children may be worried or interested by the disease and its progression, as well as feel sudden sadness and a feeling of loss, which may lead them to develop some kind of emotional disorder like depression or anxiety. In some cases, the child may be angry or feel guilty, because a loved one is suffering and they can’t do anything to help.

If you are suffering from juvenile Parkinson’s and have young children, they are probably very worried about you. In these cases, you should try to be as open as you can to talk with them and be open, rather than trying to hide information about your illness that may impact them. Talk with them about how they’re feeling, and tell them that their feelings are completely natural.

Where Can You Get Help Informing Your Kids About Parkinson’s?

We recommend that you see a specialist to talk to your kids about Parkinson’s and how to cope with it. If you think your kids would handle it well, you can bring them to a Parkinson’s support group. There might be other kids there who can help your children adapt to the new situation. However, if there are no other children in the support group, you can try to start one yourself by bringing together families that are affected by the illness, it doesn’t have to be anything formal. The only truly important thing is that your child doesn’t feel alone and that he knows he’s not the only one going through these feelings and worries about Parkinson’s.

Lastly, we want to remind you that if you’re going through this, it’s important for you to take care of your own feelings, too, because they may negatively you or those around you. Francisco Grandas, neurologist at the Gregorio Maranon Hospital in Madrid, Spain and director of the Movement Disorders program and the Ruber International hospital explains: “Luckily, there are more and more doctors that treat motor skills as well as depression, sleep disorders, sweating, or mood swings. Because there are patients who have depression and hypomania up to a few times in one day”.

Many times, we get lost in the physical symptoms of a disease and we don’t pay enough attention to the emotional symptoms, you may even forget how juvenile Parkinson’s affects your child. Don’t make this mistake, and make sure to get your feelings in order so you can help be there for your kids.