Experiences of Mothers with Intellectually Challenged Children in Tamale Metropolis

Abstract

Studies have shown that caring for a child who is intellectually challenged can be very stressful to all members of the family. Currently, care of children with intellectual disabilities is primarily undertaken by mothers who are considered the primary care givers based on the traditional roles they assume which often predispose them to a lot of physical, mental, psychological and economic stress. However, literature about intellectual disability in Ghana is scanty. This study therefore explored the experiences of mothers with intellectually challenged children in Tamale Metropolis using Hill‟s ABCX Family stress model as a guiding framework to understand the experiences of these mothers. A qualitative exploratory descriptive approach was adopted for the study. Data was collected through in-depth interviews of twelve (12) purposively selected mothers with intellectually challenged children attending Yumba Special School in Tamale. Interviews were audio taped and later transcribed verbatim and analysed using thematic content analysis. Five (5) themes were identified and described as follows: caring for a child with intellectual challenge, crises-meeting resources, meaning mothers make of the event, outcome (crises) and factors that predispose mothers to stress. In conclusion the study found that mothers with intellectually challenged children experience physical, emotional, social, financial and work challenges but have limited resources to deal with these challenges. Characteristics of the child and mother‟s own characteristics such as educational and income status as well as access to social support services predispose mothers to physical and mental health outcomes. However healthcare workers do not provide mothers with the requisite information to help them understand and better cope with their situation. Therefore, educational curricular adjustment for health trainees to include intellectual disability issues as well as implementation of social intervention policies to support these mothers will assist them in their care giving role.