FORT BRAGG, N.C. - Choosing between your children and your relationship with your spouse should be a topic that never has to be addressed. Parents of special needs children face additional challenges in keeping their partnership strong.
To teach parents ways to keep their relationship strong, the Fort Bragg Exceptional Family Member Program invited Nicholas Martin, founder and president of the Center for Accord, who specializes in conflict resolution, to Fort Bragg.
"This seminar first came about because of the Family Advocacy Program's couples and communications classes," said Jaylynn Richard, social services assistant, EFMP. "Some of our EFMP parents attended the classes and felt that the methods taught really didn't fit their needs. So, I researched online to find someone who could speak to the needs of special needs Families and invited Nicholas Martin to speak here."
Martin has taught his seminar here twice, once in May and again in October. Richard said she plans to invite him every six months.
"We've got a lot of positive feedback on his class. With the population of Fort Bragg, it's hard to reach everyone. People have heard so many good things about him though that I've even received requests from Soldiers deployed downrange for copies of the materials from his class," she said.
The seminar highlighted many ways to strengthen and build relationships, one of the major points was communication.
While communication is something most people know is part of a successful relationship, it is something everyone needs to work on, said Martin. It's all about communicating what you feel and what you want clearly and listening to each other with respect.
"We tend to listen combatively and be formulating our response to what the person is saying instead of absorbing what they are saying," he said. "Most times, we're not really listening at all."
Martin also stressed the importance of forgiveness.
"Forgiveness is something we think that we do for other people, but it is really something we do for ourselves," he said.
He elaborated by going over the forgiveness technique, where attendees were taught how to forgive others, as well as how to forgive themselves.
Gail Vissichelli, who works with the New Parent Support Program, attended the seminar and said the information she learned will help her in many aspects of her life.
"It was a really good class and I learned techniques that I can use in my profession and apply to my personal life," she said. "It gave great tips on how to strengthen your relationship while coping with added stress."
Richards said anyone looking for information on classes, support groups or needing assistance from EFMP can always call them at 396-2749.
Anyone interested in viewing materials from the seminar can visit www.4accord.com.
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