Families with a child with ASD and Down syndrome - their attitudes and values

Abstract

We are all called to live and improve the world for ourselves and others. Every person, even if he or she is a person with a disability, and with an impaired ability to perceive and understand, is a fully human subject who has an inalienable right to life and development, a right that belongs to every human being. A human being always has his or her dignity and a particular, unquestionable value. The most complete community for every human being is the family. It is the foundation of a fulfilling life, even for a child with such serious dysfunctions as ASD or Down syndrome. Having a child with ASD, or a child with Down syndrome, undoubtedly causes difficulties for the whole family in many areas. Social and cultural changes can affect how a family with a child with ASD or Down syndrome works. Thus, they may affect difficult parenting: motherhood or difficult fatherhood. At the same time, there is still a lack of research and analysis devoted to such families, to the perceived positive changes in the family system as a whole, and in the families themselves. The aim of this analysis is to try to answer the question of what attitudes and values parents of children with ASD and Down syndrome present. The research used the Attitudes Towards Disabled Persons Scale, the Attitudes Towards Disabled Persons Questionnaire and the Axiological Questionnaire by A. Sękowski. The research conducted using a diagnostic survey confirms that families characterised by a high level of moral and religious values present positive attitudes towards people with disabilities, including children with Down syndrome and ASD. Maximum assistance and support should be provided to families with a child with ASD and Down syndrome, in order to enable optimal development of children with ASD and Down syndrome in psychomotor and intellectual development by accepting and stimulating their subjectivity, and securing a space full of love and empathy.