| dc.description.abstract | The purpose of this study is to investigate the experience of chronic sorrow in parents who have a child with disability. The problem to be assessed is: “How can chronic sorrow be experienced in parents who have a child with disability?”Parents of children with disabilities often find themselves in challenging and stressful situations, which emphasizes the importance of being met, by professionals, in a positive way. Chronic sorrow is defined asaprevailing sense of loss that ebbs and flows throughout the lifespan of parents of children with disability. The writer wishes to explore and discuss the different parental reactions to having a child with disability.This assignment explains theories regarding the term disability, sorrow and different grieving processes. Furthermore, the writer hasstudied two qualitative research articles that focuses on parental experiences of having a child with disability. The findings from these articles combined with the theoretical background, leadsthe writerto conclude that grief-experiences of having a child with disability is in fact present in a cyclic and reoccurringway throughoutthe parent’slife, and that this is normal and healthy. Chronic sorrow theory can be a suitable framework in which to understand these experiences.Furthermore,there is anotheraspectof the experience that has received scant attention in the professional literature: the positive aspect. Although parents of children with disability experienced much anguish and sorrow, they also spoke of hope, love,strength and joy. | nb_NO |
