Families with handicapped children : adjusting to the situation, the resources of the family

Abstract

The presence of a handicapped child in the family imposes demands which stress the family's ability to function effectively. The family is therefore likely to require support systems to meet the crisis. A survey was conducted by means of a postal questionnaire which was sent out to 50 families with handicapped children. The purpose of the survey was to try and find out which support systems were present, within the family itself as well as available to the family from outside. An attempt was also made to find out whether the extent to which the child's handicapping condition. affected the family depended on the presence of these support systems. The results of the survey indicated that the families' support came from within e.g., spousal support and support from the other children, as well as from outside e.g. , various professionals. It was difficult to determine whether these families were functioning more effectively or not as a direct result of the support systems available to them. Each family seemed to have its own way of adapting to the situation. What, however, did emerge from the study was the fact that there were predictable crises in the lives of these families when the much needed support and guidance were either not available or not adequate. It therefore follows that more needs to be done by way of supporting and guiding these families than seems to be the case at present.