With the SynergyEd project, we achieved significant steps in enhancing positive parenting and critical parenting skills for parents of children with special needs. Parents were actively involved in every activity that affected them, ensuring their voices were heard and their needs addressed. Parents involved in the project gained new knowledge, increased confidence, empowering them to tackle daily challenges and cultivate a more inclusive environment at home and in their communities. We also created a regional network of parents, fostering a supportive community and promoting shared experiences and resources. As a result, parents experienced a reduction in stress levels, leading to a healthier daily life and a higher overall quality of life for everyone involved. Through our dissemination activities, we raised public awareness about the needs of those families, helping communities and policy-makers better understand and support them. We also engaged professionals in the field and other stakeholders, increasing awareness of the unique challenges faced by this vulnerable group. We strengthened and empowered our organizations, enhancing our visibility and positioning for future opportunities to support similar initiatives.
When envisioning a family, parents typically anticipate raising a child with typical development, not one with special needs. Finding themselves in this role often brings feelings of unpreparedness, fear and even helplessness. The journey from feeling overwhelmed to feeling capable in parenting a child with special needs is ongoing and requires support. Most parents need resources to feel confident in their skills and learn adaptive parenting techniques. While active parenting skills are effective with all children, they need to be adjusted for children with special needs, to address unique challenges and promote growth. Parent training offers big benefits for families, helping them to support their child’s development, manage challenging behaviors and foster new skills. Access to both formal and informal support can help parents address their child's needs while managing the demands of caregiving. Parents’ unique role and consistent presence strongly influence their child’s skill development and independence, while building their own skills can reduce stress and improve family dynamics. Empowering parents’ and their self-efficacy in supporting their child’s growth was our main motivation for the SynergyEd project.