Creating positive parent identity in parents of children with disabilities in the context of escort service

We review characteristics and specific difficulties of parents of children with special needs that prevent their effective socialization and personal development. We report the data obtained on problem seminars with escort services specialists, as well the results of a comparative study of parental attitudes and reports of parent organizations. We identified the following characteristics of parents: their emotional rejection of the child and of themselves, compensatory egocentric focus on their parenting role, but not on the child, weak ability to decentration and understanding the child's needs, low subjectivity in social interactions. We also point at the parents’ difficulties associated with the formal organization of the services that help the family. We conclude that the main focus of assistance to this category of parents is to create the conditions for the formation of positive parental identity during the escort service work. We describe the psychological means of such work: modeling subjective world of the child for the parents, inclusion of parents in the work of professionals with children, strengthening parental feedback, use of metaphors, and positive reinforcement.

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