ERIC Number: EJ859159
Record Type: Journal
Publication Date: 2009
Pages: 16
Abstractor: As Provided
ISBN: N/A
ISSN: ISSN-0271-1214
EISSN: N/A
"Just Good Different Things": Specific Accommodations Families Make to Positively Adapt to Their Children with Developmental Disabilities
Maul, Christine A.; Singer, George H. S.
Topics in Early Childhood Special Education, v29 n3 p155-170 2009
Fifteen parents and two grandparents of children with developmental disabilities (DD) were interviewed to discover common themes regarding specific ways in which they devised positive adaptations to their everyday routines to accommodate the needs of their children with DD, how they decided upon the accommodations, and how much help they felt they received from professionals in making the accommodations. Interviews were audiorecorded and transcribed. Using grounded theory methods, the authors analyzed the transcriptions to determine common themes, which were found to be (a) lost opportunities replaced by new opportunities, (b) the family as a team, (c) time adaptations, (d) the idiosyncratic nature of family accommodations, and (e) an insistence on normalcy, accompanied by a resistance to stigma. Participants most commonly described their decision-making process as "trial and error," and the majority felt professionals had given them good help in making accommodations. (Contains 2 tables.)
Descriptors: Grounded Theory, Developmental Disabilities, Family Environment, Family Relationship, Parents, Grandparents, Child Rearing, Parenting Skills, Interviews, Time, Normalization (Disabilities), Resistance (Psychology), Social Bias, Social Attitudes, Decision Making, Adjustment (to Environment), Family Work Relationship, Sibling Relationship, Teamwork, Parent Attitudes, Allied Health Personnel
SAGE Publications and Hammill Institute on Disabilities. 2455 Teller Road, Thousand Oaks, CA 91320. Tel: 800-818-7243; Tel: 805-499-9774; Fax: 800-583-2665; e-mail: journals@sagepub.com; Web site: http://sagepub.com
Publication Type: Journal Articles; Reports - Research
Education Level: N/A
Audience: N/A
Language: English
Sponsor: N/A
Authoring Institution: N/A
Grant or Contract Numbers: N/A