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Unit 31: Rehabilitation of Exceptional Children: Role of Peers, Role of Family

parents and avoidable for example parental infections of the mother or seizures and injuries resulting Notes
from the child falling or dropped by mother, father or by some family member the guilt experience is
relatively more. Causes are not known or not detectable in around 30-40% of cases who are Mentally
Challenged (Indian council of medical research, 1996). Parents then may torture themselves about
what the cause may be; parent's fantasies of what may have caused the disability range from concern
like quarrels during pregnancy to blaming themselves, others even to their fate. In Indian society, it
can be observed that if the in-laws and the couple are expecting a male child and if the mother gave
birth to a female child. In such circumstances, the mother is blamed, tortured and even isolated from
the family. In case of giving birth to a child with disability, chances of mother to be blamed are more.
She is been blamed either of some sin, curse or some misbehavior on her part in the marital life. The
blame is also extended to the fate of the mother but not the couple or the in-laws family together.
However, multiculturalism is criticized for various reasons. Here the role of professionals is very
crucial. Multicultural orientation of the professionals is the key for intervention to deal with these
issues in the process of conselling. To deal with the misconceptions which consolidates the belief
system which further give rise to negative thoughts after the critical incidence of having a child with
disability can be best dealt by intervening in to the culture specific issues responsible for holding
particular dysfunctional assumptions. Along with this, it is helpful for parents to share, discuss,
evaluate and understand their ideas regarding the causes of disability.

All over the world, there is a trend towards trying to avoid taking disabled children
away from their family and therapists are increasingly taking an interest in the idea
of encouraging the active participation of mothers in the whole process.

31.1.3 Nature of disability
Nature of disability, what exactly is wrong with the child is one of the major concerns of the parents
of child with disability. It affects the realistic acceptance of the parents of child with disability. There
can be two scenarios either the disability can be obvious or not obvious. When the disability is
physically obvious and noticeable then it becomes easier for the parents to accept the reality of
disability. When the disability is not physically obvious and noticeable, it becomes difficult for parents
to accept that their child has some disability for example such as hearing impairment. Two reasons
for this discrepancy can be observed: one, it is more difficult to consider that a child who does not
look 'different' from other children has a disability. Second, often the disability in normal appearing
children is not evident until later in infancy or in the preschool years, so that parents have developed
attachments to and expectations for a non-handicapped child. However, parents might experience
fear of not having a normal child but they do not expect a non-normal child. Many factors work
behind this thought process. Becoming a parent is a positive feeling for a couple who is expecting
child that generates positive thoughts in the mind and dreaming about themselves and their offspring
positive future. This kind of thoughts works as a defense and denies the fact though the non-normality
is obvious. When the physical disability is not obvious and the parents realizes that their child is
lagging behind compare to other children in home, school or in neighborhood, a bargaining process
starts of how everything was "normal" since conception. Such situations, force parents to reexamine
their perceptions regarding their child, build tremendous stress on the couple. This increases their
vulnerability for further physical and mental ill health.
Self Assessment
1. Fill in the blanks:
(i) ....................... orientation of the professionals is the key for intervention to deal with these
disability issues in the process of counseling.
(ii) The first major stress that a family experience while facing the news from the professional
that the new borne is ..................... .

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