Every person and every family has strengths. Sometimes you might not be aware of strengths because you are so busy dealing with life's everyday problems. When you increase your perception of personal strengths, you can use your inner resources to handle any roadblocks that come your way.

Professionals believe strong families:

1. Communicate and listen
2. Affirm and support one another
3. Teach respect for others
4. Have a sense of trust
5. Have a sense of humor and play
6. Are spontaneous
7. Foster family meals and conversation
8. Encourage each other to develop their own unique characteristics
9. Exhibit a sense of shared responsibility
10. Teach a sense of right and wrong
11. Are rich in rituals and traditions
12. Balance interactions among members
13. Share a religious or spiritual core
14. Respect the privacy of one another
15. Value service to others
16. Are active
17. Share leisure time
18. Recognize when they have problems and seeks answers

taken from a publication by the Beach Center on Families and Disability