Description

For a majority of parents, the birth of a child brings great joy, but, at the same time, also brings new responsibilities and tasks in addition to those that existed previously. It is often necessary to undergo a process of adaptation and, progressively, the family establishes new habits and routines that incorporate the tasks of caring for this new member (Belsky and Kelly 1994; Cowan and Cowan 1997). However, if some physical or intellectual disabilities are detected during the early stages of the child's life, parents' caring task takes on a quite different meaning (Cunningham 2000; Risdal and Singer 2004). Although many parents cope quite well with the increased demands of rearing a child with a disability, existing literature shows that caring for a child with a chronic condition can become burdensome and impact on the physical health, psychological health and ultimately, the wellbeing of the caregiver, usually the mother (Amosun et al., 1995; Dellve et al., 2005; Eisenhower et al., 2005; Smith et al., 1993; Turnbull et al., 2004).