Parenting with Assistance – The Views of Disabled Parents and Personal Assistants

This qualitative study, based on semi-structured interviews with eight parents with disabilities and five personal assistants, explores two different but interrelated perspectives: how parents with extensive physical disabilities use personal assistants in their parenting strategies and how personal...

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Main Authors: Viveca Selander, Kristina Engwall
Format: Article
Language:English
Published: Stockholm University Press 2021-05-01
Series:Scandinavian Journal of Disability Research
Subjects:
Online Access:https://account.sjdr.se/index.php/su-j-sjdr/article/view/775
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author Viveca Selander
Kristina Engwall
author_facet Viveca Selander
Kristina Engwall
author_sort Viveca Selander
collection DOAJ
description This qualitative study, based on semi-structured interviews with eight parents with disabilities and five personal assistants, explores two different but interrelated perspectives: how parents with extensive physical disabilities use personal assistants in their parenting strategies and how personal assistants experience assisting in parenting strategies. The assistance users’ parenting strategies are affected by gender, age of the children and whether the disabilities were congenital or acquired later in life. The assistants were seen as enablers, competitors for the child’s love or compensators. Access to personal assistance has increased parents’ possibilities to be active in their parenting. However, total adaptation to the assistance user’s parenting strategies could be challenging for assistants with different parenting ideals. There is a need for discussions on how assistants can work to strengthen parenting roles as well as receive support to work in a sustainable way.
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spelling doaj.art-e103dc4a6fc7485097d3f0b17e4872aa2023-04-21T12:59:43ZengStockholm University PressScandinavian Journal of Disability Research1745-30112021-05-0123113614610.16993/sjdr.775930Parenting with Assistance – The Views of Disabled Parents and Personal AssistantsViveca Selander0Kristina Engwall1Stockholm UniversityUppsala universityThis qualitative study, based on semi-structured interviews with eight parents with disabilities and five personal assistants, explores two different but interrelated perspectives: how parents with extensive physical disabilities use personal assistants in their parenting strategies and how personal assistants experience assisting in parenting strategies. The assistance users’ parenting strategies are affected by gender, age of the children and whether the disabilities were congenital or acquired later in life. The assistants were seen as enablers, competitors for the child’s love or compensators. Access to personal assistance has increased parents’ possibilities to be active in their parenting. However, total adaptation to the assistance user’s parenting strategies could be challenging for assistants with different parenting ideals. There is a need for discussions on how assistants can work to strengthen parenting roles as well as receive support to work in a sustainable way.https://account.sjdr.se/index.php/su-j-sjdr/article/view/775personal assistanceparentingparenthoodparenting strategies
spellingShingle Viveca Selander
Kristina Engwall
Parenting with Assistance – The Views of Disabled Parents and Personal Assistants
Scandinavian Journal of Disability Research
personal assistance
parenting
parenthood
parenting strategies
title Parenting with Assistance – The Views of Disabled Parents and Personal Assistants
title_full Parenting with Assistance – The Views of Disabled Parents and Personal Assistants
title_fullStr Parenting with Assistance – The Views of Disabled Parents and Personal Assistants
title_full_unstemmed Parenting with Assistance – The Views of Disabled Parents and Personal Assistants
title_short Parenting with Assistance – The Views of Disabled Parents and Personal Assistants
title_sort parenting with assistance the views of disabled parents and personal assistants
topic personal assistance
parenting
parenthood
parenting strategies
url https://account.sjdr.se/index.php/su-j-sjdr/article/view/775
work_keys_str_mv AT vivecaselander parentingwithassistancetheviewsofdisabledparentsandpersonalassistants
AT kristinaengwall parentingwithassistancetheviewsofdisabledparentsandpersonalassistants