A special kind of love: Child-rearing stories of parents having a child with down syndrome

Abstract

This qualitative study was conducted to document child-rearing stories of parents having a child with Down Syndrome through the use of narrative inquiry. The documented child-rearing stories from parents investigated the parent's child-rearing experiences, successes, and challenges that they encountered, lessons they learned, as well as parenting features and aspects. One family was purposively chosen as participants. Triangulation was done with the stories of both parents who served as primary participants and three related individuals who were the peripheral participants. The information obtained from the interview schedule and observations were transcribed and analyzed using qualitative narrative data analysis. There were four themes constructed based on the stories. The parents' experiences include responding to painful reality, seeking for options and support, and surviving the maze of parenting. Success stories were centered on the development of self-help skills, talents in sports and dance, and competitive skills that led to awards in international competitions. The parents faced challenges in terms of facing the uncertainty of the child's future, financial problems, and the child's attitude towards rules. The participants' parenting features include the authoritative or positive parenting style of the parents and implementing discipline with understanding. The lessons learned by the parents include acceptance of their child condition and fostering discipline. With the cooperation of school administrators, SPED teachers, SPED professionals, and parents, children with Down syndrome were fully understood, loved, developed, and accepted as what they are in the community.