Hard roads to mothers’ adaptation in the face of their child’s profound intellectual disability

Abstract

The article analyzes mothers’ road to adaptation to their child’s profound intellectual disability, covering young children, older children, and adult children. Various emotions and a mental-health crisis in the whole family are inherent to the process of adapting to a profound disability. This process stretches over all life, especially in families with children with profound disabilities. Specialist scientific literature seldom describes the situation of families with young children and adults with profound disabilities. This discussion is to show that only in-depth investigation and analysis of the ways parents adapt can draw a response in the system of support for families with young children; this can also be helpful for caregivers of adults with profound disabilities and their mental health throughout their life.