[Parents of a handicapped child (review of American literature).].
The presence of an handicapped child is a cause of major stress in a family and the source of serious upheavals. For the parents, this occurence can promote personal growth or lead to dissatisfaction or an inadaptive process that will influence their life on many levels: personal, conjugal, familial and social. The handicapped child's birth itself affects the parents and triggers many emotions, feelings behaviors and attitudes. The parents find themselves in a complex and irreversible situation to which they have to adapt. They have to organize their life in order to provide favorable conditions for the development of the child while preserving their own and their family's integrity. This article presents the different stages the parents have to go through to achieve a certain peace of mind. It also describes the reactions of the handicapped children's siblings in terms of their feelings and needs and underlines the determining role of the parents towards them. The professionals involved in those situations have to understand the underlying family dynamics. Their objective is to help the parents provide a stimulating environment to the handicapped child while preserving harmony in their family.
Lamarche
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