In the developed study here presented it was our intention to alert and appeal to the importance of the topic: “The other part: siblings of disabled people”. We intended to analyse and understand the relationship between healthy siblings and siblings with a disability. For that we answered questions such as: Which changes were felt in the family life cycle? What implications have these changes had in the development of the healthy sibling? Does the healthy sibling have a healthy life quality? May the healthy sibling have been harmed or slighted by the family system or even by the surrounding systems (e.g., society, school, associations)? Does it make any sense to create a support association not just to families but also to the caretaker siblings? This study is enframed in an investigation paradigm with a qualitative character in which the choice of the data gathering instruments was made to strike its assumptions, following the guidance and procedures of a case study. The sample selected for this investigation is of (n=5) participants, five “healthy” children whose siblings have a disability with different pathologies and different degrees of severity. About the method, we decided on a qualitative study recurring to documental sources and interviews. Confronting the gathered data, we concluded that the quality of life of “healthy” children is proportionally affected by their sibling’s disability and we pounder the hypothesis of creating a support institution for these siblings, for the family stability and their emotional and psychological balance. The motivation is caused by the great concern about the approaching adulthood of their disabled siblings as well as the aging of their parents (the approaching of parenthood responsibilities towards their siblings). The subsequent results of this investigation will be a contribute to the reflection on fraternal relationship between “healthy” children and disabled siblings which will unfold the possibility of future studies. The hypothesis of the necessity of creating a support association to “The other part” may be a dream… but perhaps a future reality. Let us hope it is a near future, as near as possible.
Date of Award | 2014 |
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Original language | Portuguese |
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Awarding Institution | - Universidade Católica Portuguesa
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Supervisor | Filomena Ermida Costa Figueiredo Branco da Ponte (Supervisor) |
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- Disability
- Family relations
- Fraternal relationship
- Quality of life
- Mestrado em Ciências da Educação: Educação Especial
O outro lado: os irmãos de pessoas com deficiência
Barbosa, S. R. A. (Student). 2014
Student thesis: Master's Thesis