A Phenomenological (Hermeneutic) Approach to Understand Issues Faced by Families With Disabled Children

Yet, at the same time, many other parents are capable of coping successfully with the challenges that are related to their child’s disorder. These parents gain positive achievements thanks to their experience with raising a child with ASD, such as personal growth, better relationships with others, and greater patience and empathy. In addition, reasoning and reframing of their views on ASD come in order to deal with the child’s ASD in a positive way. The use of positive coping strategies contributes to an increase in parental happiness and well-being (Benson,

To find that a member a family has learning difficulty is a huge shock for the rest of the family and brings emotions and new challenges. Living with a disabled person can have profound effects on the entire family–parents, siblings(brothers and sisters).For parents, having a disabled child

The impacts will likely depend on the type of condition and severity, as well as the physical, emotional, and financial wherewithal of the family and the resources that are available. For parents, having a disabled child may increase stress, take a toll on mental and physical health, make it difficult to find appropriate and affordable child care, and affect decisions about work, education/training, having additional children, and relying on public support. It may be associated with guilt, blame, or reduced self-esteem. It may divert attention from other aspects of family functioning.

Interviewing the parent of a child diagnosed with learning disability can be intimidating. It is difficult to gauge how much a parent wants to reveal about their child. Also, it is not unusual to discover that one parent is at a different place of acceptance than the other parent. Each family member’s journey is different; for example, it is not rare for a father to work out the emotional difficulty of a special needs diagnosis differently than a mother.

Hauser-Cram P, Warfield ME, Shonkoff JP, Krauss MW, Sayer A, Upshur CC. Children with disabilities: A longitudinal study of child development and parent well-being. Monogr Soc Res Child Dev. 2001;66:i–viii.

Family members overwhelmingly expressed very positive views of their children with intellectual disabilities. Parents also reflected on the challenges of raising a child with a disability, however even when discussing the challenges that both they and their children had faced, parents also recognized that others may not view their children the same way that they do but what should be noticed regardless of their child's functional level, parents are proud and described a variety of

According to Baker-Ericzén, Brookman-Frazee, and Stahmer (2006), parents of young children with developmental delays experience high levels of child-related stress than parents of children without delays. Mothers of children with autism report both high stress levels and lower parenting competency/confidence than mothers of children without disabilities (Baker-Ericzén, et. al., 2006).

Even though having a disability itself is a risk in relation to children suffering from ill-treatment, other risk factors for this population can be recognized. There are few factors that can be possibly reformed in order to lessen the maltreatment risk among this population. The adjustable risk factors includes lack of social support, weak parent-child connection, high and frequently fluctuating stress levels, and nonexistent parental familiarity of their child’s

From the first day a child is born, parents are there to nurture their child, to support them as they grow and develop. There is a lot to learn about raising a child under normal circumstances, but when a child has special needs parents must learn this whole new language of medical and special education terms (Overton, 2005). Parents enter this new world where navigating for the best interest of their child is riddled with challenges and obstacles that they need to somehow overcome. This is especially true when parents are dealing with the special education program in their child’s school.

As children go through different stages in life, parents tend to experience different kind of emotions. For most parents the preparation into adulthood or life after secondary school is often a big celebration but for others it can be quarrelsome, scary, and worrisome, especially if the parent has a child with disability. Having a child with a disability is a trial in which a parent’s patience, love, perseverance is tested. It’s a challenge that involves many new things to know and many different directions to turn. Under the IDEA there are two kind of transition that requires planning: a) the transition from early intervention to early childhood education services, b) the transition from postsecondary school to adult life (IDEA, 2004). Parents

There are several issues related to parental reactions to having a child with a disability. Having a child with a disability can have an effect on family dynamics as well as a change in work habits, some parents have to work fewer hours, change jobs, or become a stay at home parent in order to properly care for their child’s needs. Parents cope with their guilt, feelings, and public reactions

In an interventional study by Mary A. Roach, Gael I. Orsmond, and Marguerite Barratt (1999) Mothers and Fathers of Children with Down Syndrome: Parental Stress and Involvement in Childcare, found that parents of children with Down syndrome observed more caregiver and parent-child related stress than of parents of typical developing children (para. 1). These stresses increased the parent’s health problems. The stress on both parents was different; mothers perceived more role-restriction and had difficulties with spousal support and fathers are perceived as depressed (Roach et al., 2012, para 24). Women were more likely to leave their jobs to support their disable child than men (Solomon, 2012). Roach et al. (2012) argues that it is difficult for parents to adapt to

Having a child with Down’s syndrome may, for various reasons, be a potential source of distress for the parents, although the level of stress seems not as high as once thought (Van Der Veek, et al, 2009). A number of studies have found parents of children with Down’s syndrome to be more distressed than parents of typically developing children. Some evidence is even found for a slightly higher incidence of clinical depression among these parents (Van Der Veek, et al., 2009). Coping skills are recommended for care givers of individuals with psychological disorders. These are not normal circumstances and can weigh on someone’s health if they become overwhelmed with caring for someone that can’t normally function on their

al (2014) it is suggested promoting a positive relationship between all family members is beneficial to the family. According to Whiting (2014) 9% of families stated that having a child with a disability led to a family break-up. Whiting (2014) suggests that 23% of parents believe having a child with a disability brought them closer.

“Coming together is a beginning, keeping together is progress, working together is success”, Henry Ford once said. These wise words spoken by Henry Ford inadvertently relate to how a family works together to adapt to life changes. There are countless obstacles and hardships that people encounter as they journey through life. Having strong, stable, and supportive relationships allow people to be resilient to the hardships. A family subsystem provides support to the changes that occur throughout life. For many, adaptability can be difficult; for some, however, with the support of loved ones, parents, marital spouses, siblings, and extended family, many are able to overcome the countless challenges. Many families have a difficult time adapting to the changing life circumstances that include the presence of a disability. Many emotions engross the minds’ of families who are confronted with the reality that their child or sibling is diagnosed with a disability. Creating a “new normal” after the diagnosis of a disability can be daunting for many families. Nevertheless, with the support from one another, many families are able to live a happy life.