1. The lived experience of immigrant parents of disabled adolescents and young adults transitioning into adulthood: A narrative inquiry.
- Author
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Nyikach, Dominic Andrew and Hansen, Ketil Lenert
- Subjects
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IMMIGRANTS , *QUALITATIVE research , *INTERVIEWING , *PARENT attitudes , *DESCRIPTIVE statistics , *JUDGMENT sampling , *EXPERIENCE , *INTELLECTUAL disabilities , *THEMATIC analysis , *PSYCHOLOGICAL stress , *LANGUAGE disorders , *TRANSITION to adulthood , *ACCESS to information , *SOCIAL isolation , *PEOPLE with disabilities - Abstract
Background: Immigrant parents' perspectives on raising adolescents and young adults with intellectual disabilities during the transition to adulthood are the focus of this study. Disabled children demand more care and support as they mature and transition to adulthood. This increased care demand places significant stress on parents' wellbeing and participation in social and economic activities. Methods: Qualitative interviews were undertaken with purposively sampled immigrant parents of adolescents and young adults with intellectual disabilities transitioning into adulthood. The study used inductive thematic analysis to identify common themes across the data set. Findings: The birth of their disabled child marked a new beginning in a family's life, characterised first by shock and later by acceptance. Informants experienced challenges associated with language and information access, reduced service, social isolation, skewed gender roles and worrying about their children's future. Conclusions: The intersection between migration and disability can aggravate the care burden. Knowledge about parents' experiences is crucial for designing rehabilitation programmes, promoting wellbeing and bridging gaps between services recommended by service providers and the actual needs of the family and child. Accessible summary: This paper is about the stories of three immigrant parents raising children with intellectual disabilities in Norway.Moving to a new country and having a disability can increase the risk of vulnerability.The parents in the study faced challenges accessing services and being isolated.Knowing about their experiences is important for making services better.Transition to adulthood is an important milestone in an individual's life. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]
- Published
- 2024
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