Walking on Eggshells

This article examines 2 themes in my 25-year journey raising a son with severe mood dysregulation, attention deficit with hyperactivity, and learning disabilities (MAL). Raising children with MAL significantly alters parents' own development, having to manage their children's chronic rages and aggression from toddlerhood through young adulthood. I propose a framework of periods parents go through, and describe a years-long progression of internal and behavioral adaptations necessary to parent these children effectively. The article suggests that more study is needed to understand how parents fare and what happens to them over time, and considers support that would improve their trajectory.