Children with disabilities can benefit greatly from massages. Whether the child is in a wheelchair, Down syndrome, autism, cerebral palsy, etc., he or she will have an improved life with massages.

Due to one of the facts that children with disabilities often have muscular problems. Many times children that have muscular problems have a difficult time sleeping at naptime and/or at night. Wouldn’t it be wonderful if you as a parent, enjoyed more sleep since your child was sleeping better? You need to take care of yourself as you are one of the main caregivers to your child with a disability.

If your child acts out with aggressive behaviors he or she will learn better behavioral ways to manage his or her anger. Thus, making you a happier parent and your child much happier as well.

Learning how to give your child a massage is a wonderful gift you can give your child as well as yourself. The two of you will feel closer. You may talk softly during this time or let your child relax with soft music or complete silence. You can vary this as well once you get into a massage routine. When you touch your child you are showing your child how much you care for him or her.

When you first start to give your child a massage remember never to force the situation. You want the massage session to relax your child, not stress him or her out. You may have to start out slowly with only one to two minutes and gradually adding on more time. It may help to set a timer for your child to visualize and hear when the massage is over. If your child is leery at first, you may have him or her sit down and gently rub his/her shoulders. You could also try slowly rubbing your fingers on his/her head. If he or she is accepting of this, you may try to run your fingers through his/her hair in small circular motions. Every day add on two minutes to your child’s massage time.

If your child with a disability is not sensitive to smells you may want to add aroma therapy to your massage session. Lavender is a good calming scent to use during your child’s massage time. You may find electric candles to light as well if you want to turn down the lights in your home for a more relaxing setting. You may need to show your child the electric candle ahead of time so he or she is not completely focused on the candle instead of relaxing and enjoying the massage you are giving him or her.

You may choose to use essential oils to make the massage feel smoother and leave your child’s skin nice and soft. Using essential oils are especially wonderful in the winter months when skin can become dry and irritated.

Once your child gets used to you giving him or her massages, you can incorporate hot stones into the massage. Learn how to use different types of stones and which hot stones are used on different parts of the body.