Proceedings of the 8th International Conference on Research in Teaching and Education
Year: 2024
DOI:
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Metaphors as A Tool for Expressing the Parental Experience of Children with Disabilities
Alicia Greenbank, Daniela Menzin
ABSTRACT:
The purpose of the present study was to examine the perception of the parental experience of parents of children with disabilities using metaphors. This study was conducted in Israel with a group of 150 parents of children with a variety of disabilities participated in the study. The research tool was a questionnaire in which the parents were asked to present a metaphor that best expresses their personal perception of parenting a child with a disability. In the analysis, four themes were determined: “Pressure cooker, race and survival” – the difficulties of coping during growth; “New and unknown journey” – an unknown journey that includes learning and surprises; “A roller coaster with ups and downs” – the fluctuations in raising a child with a disability; and “Empowering gift” – the positive aspects of parenting a child with a disability. Most of the metaphors focused around the themes of the difficulties of coping and fluctuations in raising a child with a disability. The research findings may mainly help multi-professional teams to develop awareness of the parents’ experience and formulate ways of assistance and support that will lead to coordinated and collaborative work with them.
Keywords: the parenting experience, parents of a child with a disability, a child with a disability, metaphors