The quality of life of parents of people with intellectual disabilities

Svaka osoba ima pravo ispuniti svoj puni potencijal, uživati u svojim pravima i mogućnostima, donositi odluke o vlastitom životu i biti prihvaćen u društvu kao jednak ostalima. Svaka osoba ima pravo na slobodno vrijeme i pravo na to da se posveti sebi. Roditelji osoba s intelektualnim teškoćama nerijetko zanemaruju sebe i svoje potrebe i na prvo mjesto stavljaju potrebe svoje djece s intelektualnim teškoćama. Briga i odgoj djece s intelektualnim teškoćama veliki je zadatak koji je stavljen pred roditelje, zadatak koji iziskuje puno vremena, ljubavi, upornosti, ali i financijskih sredstava, a s kojim se često ne mogu nositi samostalno. Opća kvaliteta života roditelja osoba s intelektualnim teškoćama je niska, često napuštaju zaposlenje i zbog svega toga, često budu stigmatizirani. Roditeljima je potrebna pomoć i podrška okoline, potrebno je da oni i njihova djeca budu prihvaćeni, a trenutna razina podrške je izrazito niska, kako formalne tako i neformalne. Potrebno je da država i sustav, pa zatim i socijalni radnici, budu ti koji će pokrenuti promjenu, informirati i educirati društvo, a zatim biti podrška koju svaki roditelj osobe s intelektualnim teškoćama neizmjerno treba. Potrebno je mnogo vremena i truda kako bi se situacija u svijetu promijenila u korist roditelja osoba s intelektualnim teškoćama, no niti jedan zadatak nije lagan, niti nemoguć za ostvariti.Every person has the right to fulfill their full potential, enjoy their rights and opportunities, make decisions about their own lives and to be accepted in society as equal. Every person has the right to have free time and the right to dedicate to himself. Parents of a person with intellectual disability often neglect themselves and their needs and put the needs of their children with intellectual disabilities first. Caring for and raising children with intellectual disabilities is a big task set in front of their parents, a task that requires a lot of time, love, perseverance, but also financial resources, and which they often cannot handle on their own. The general quality of life of the parents of a person with intellectual disabilities is low, they often leave employment and because of all this, often are stigmatized. Parents need the help and support of the environment, they and their children need to be accepted, the current level of support is extremely low, both formal and informal. It is necessary that the state and the system, and then the social workers, as it will initiate change, information and education, and then be the support that every parent of a person with intellectual disabilities will desperately need. It takes a lot of time and effort to make a change in the world in favor of the parents of a person with intellectual disabilities, but no task is easy or impossible to accomplish