Parents of children with disabilities in Swaziland challenges and resources in a resilience perspective

Abstract

This article explores how resilience is built into everyday life and how protective factors are used as tools of resilience by parents of children living with disabilities in Swaziland with particular attention given to challenges and resources as forms of resilience. Participants were parents who were purposively sampled from three regions whose children attended in 3 special primary schools in the same regions. Data were collected using focus group discussions and individual interviews and were thematically analysed. The findings revealed that parents of children with disabilities were not equipped on how to cope with their children’s disability. The findings suggest the need for the development of training programmes for teachers and health personnel on how to counsel and work with parents of children with disabilities in order to help them in understanding their own feelings and apply coping strategies.