ERIC Number: EJ1123568
Record Type: Journal
Publication Date: 2016-Mar
Pages: 11
Abstractor: As Provided
ISBN: N/A
ISSN: ISSN-1744-6295
EISSN: N/A
Brenna's Story: A Critical Reflection and Analysis of One Mother's Experience of Navigating the Medical System with a Child with Intellectual Disabilities
Bye, Amanda; Aston, Megan
Journal of Intellectual Disabilities, v20 n1 p82-92 Mar 2016
Children with intellectual disabilities spend more time in the health-care system than mainstream children. Parents have to learn how to navigate the system by coordinating appointments, understanding the referral process, knowing what services are available, and advocating for those services. This places an incredible amount of responsibility on families. This article is one mother's personal story and reflection about her journey through the Canadian health-care system in Nova Scotia, with her daughter who has an intellectual disability. The reflection identifies moments of tension experienced by a mother and how she was expected to be a medical system navigator, doctor-educator, time manager, and care coordinator and the roles that led to feelings of repression, extreme frustration, and fear. A final discussion offers an analysis of her experience, using concepts from feminist post-structuralism.
Descriptors: Foreign Countries, Mothers, Intellectual Disability, Daughters, Experience, Medical Services, Personal Narratives, Reflection, Navigation, Parent Role, Psychological Patterns, Case Studies, Criticism, Physician Patient Relationship
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Publication Type: Journal Articles; Reports - Evaluative
Education Level: N/A
Audience: N/A
Language: English
Sponsor: N/A
Authoring Institution: N/A
Identifiers - Location: Canada
Grant or Contract Numbers: N/A