The quality of life of families bringing up children with intelectual disabilities

The object of the research: The quality of life of families bringing up children with intelectual disabilities. The goal of the research – To identify the quality of life of families bringing up children with intelectual impairment. Aims: 1. To define the quality of life of families having disabled childen on the basis of theoretical aspect. 2. To analize the possibilities and features of taking part in working, social activities of families bringing up children with intelectual impairment. 3. To analize the quality of life of families bringing up disabled children. 4. To compare the quality of life of families bringing up disabled children on the basis of their income and the structure of the family. Conclusions: 1. After the analyses of scientific literature, it became obvious that the quality of families having disabled children depends on financial problems, the shortage of social help, social network, mutual relatioship. 2. Families bringing up disabled children face different obstacles while combining the time work and the time for a child‘s care. The intensivity of families taking part in social life is influenced by the features of a child‘s disability, the social attitude, possibile reactions of the parents to a negative attitude of the society. The free time is closely connected with a family‘s possibilities and hobbies. 3. Families having childen with intelectual disabilities, evaluate their quality of life rather in the middle. While evaluating on the basis of the complexity of a family, any differences have been noticed, but there is a tendency that full families evaluated the quality of life better in comparison with half families. On the basis of income, the financial situation did not have any influence on the quality of life. Unfortunately, there is a clear tendency that families which have 1000 Litas per one person evaluated their quality of life better than families which have 500 Litas per month per person. 4. Full families the sphere of health and social care evaluated better than half families. Familes having 1000 Litas and more per month to one person experience negative emotions not so often in comparison with families which have 500 Litas per month or even less to one person. Families having 1000 Litas and more per month to one person, the sphere of thinking, learning, concentration and attention evaluated better in comparison with families having 500 Litas or less per month to one person. Families having 1000 Litas or more per month to one person, the sphere of daily activity evaluated better than families having 500 Litas or less per month to one person. The sphere of home surroundings and the social health care was evaluated better by families having 1000 Litas or more per month to one person than by families having 500 Litas or less per month to one person. Recommendations: 1. To support the initiatives in order a parent, taking care of a disabled child, could have a possibility to get broader social guarantees (different cultural events, free time activities, means of communication, etc.). 2. To develop a tolerant social attitude towards people who have a disability while organizing common activities, giving lectures, promoting family communication. This could lower the social isolation. 3. To oraganize more active social participation to families having a disabled childs, to give a broader sphere of free time activities to all family members. To encourage parents to take part more often in public places togeher with disabled children. 4. To educate specialists who could provide an emotional support, could be able to communicate with families bringing up disabled children, could provide a psycological help to the family