In researching the stress that parents of children with disabilities go through, I found an article based off of a research study of evaluating stress levels of parents of children with disabilities.  Research has shown that the interactions of parents with their children with disabilities can have a profound impact on the progress that a child makes in his or her therapeutic or educational program.  With that being said, this article argues that an important component of the screening and assessment process is a measure of the stress level experienced by the parents providing an overview of the different assessment instruments currently used to evaluate stress in parents of children with disabilities, making recommendations.
The concept of stress can be broken down into four domains; the stressor, strain, coping resources, and coping strategies.  Some coping strategies include attending parent support groups, hiring a care working, or just simply discussing fears and concerns with a friend or family member.  These are all strategies I have been familiarized with through our textbook.  What this article brought my attention to was the number of assessment instruments used to measure and quantify stress.  Each of the four domain of stress is assessed separately or in combination to provide information about the amount of stress a parent is experiencing and his or her reaction to that stress.  This will then assist in determining the type of intervention and services that would be the most beneficial.
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