Abstract:

Having a mentally handicapped child has many difficulties in terms of psycho-logical, economic and social aspects, that are encountered families and especially by mothers. In most cases, these difficulties cannot be seen with all the clarity. The objective of this study is to be able to make the difficulties experienced in growing such children obvious and to offer suggestions for mitigating these difficulties through the example of mothers with mentally handicapped children in Istanbul-Pendik province. The sample of the research consists of 7 mothers with mentally disabled children living in Istanbul-Pendik county. In-depth interviews were conducted using semi-structured interview form. The data obtained are classified into five categories: economic problems, psychological problems, social problems, educational problems and problems arising in family rela-tions. In order to explain the data, the descriptive analysis method was carried out using the thematic framework. It has been found that families with mantally handicapped children and especially mothers, are exposed to more stress, have more time to care for their children, need more financial resources, and are more cautious and limited in their social relations. At the same time, the existing stresses also influence the interpersonal relations at a high level. At the end of the study, it was understood that the support of families of children with mental disabilities would not be enough to mitigate the difficulties being encountered, and that the regulation of the social functioning and social awareness was important at the same time when the reasons behind these difficulties were analyzed.

Keywords: