Relationships of People With Multiple Disabilities

1 ABSTRACT The thesis deals with the topic of partner relationships of people with multiple disabilities. The academic literature does not pay enough attention to this issue. However, knowledge in this area is essential for the proper integration of individuals into society and for ensuring their opportunities to develop social relationships comparable to those seen in mainstream intact society. Therefore, the aim of this paper is to identify the characteristics of partnership cohabitation of people with combined disabilities. To this end, a qualitative research investigation was conducted in the form of structured interviews. The research sample consisted of a total of 13 respondents, 11 persons with combined disabilities and 2 senior staff members of the Jedlička Institute. The thesis provides a detailed insight into the formation and functioning of partnership relationships and identifies the determinants that influence these relationships through the open coding method. The main finding of the analysis is the negative connotation of the identified determinants, which thus represent rather barriers preventing the formation of relationships. This finding represents a challenge not only for social service workers but also for individuals with disabilities to find ways to overcome these barriers. KEYWORDS..