Attachment Theory and Disabled Children

By

ACKNOWLEDGEMENT

I would like to thank to my supervisor supporting me throughout my project and giving his valuable suggestions. Finally thanks to all my friends and family for their utmost support and inspiration.

DECLARATION

I, (Your name), would like to declare that all contents included in this dissertation stand for my individual work without any aid, & this dissertation has not been submitted for any examination at academic as well as professional level previously. It is also representing my very own views & not essentially which are associated with university.

Signed __________________ Date _________________

ABSTRACT

Attachment is often defined as the “theory of love.” It is the special emotion and commitment we feel for another person. Secure attachments lead to healthy and well-adjusted children who move on and get further success in life. Children with disabilities might not show the regular signs of development in the attachment cycle. They might be limited in comprehending and responding to parents. So reading the child's cues becomes extremely important in that case. The present study aims to explain in detail the concept of attachment theory and its role in children with disability. It also seeks to understand the significance of understanding attachment theory in assisting parents and care givers cope with the disability in children. Finally it seeks to give a framework to assist practitioners in social work in dealing with children with a disability. The findings indicate that The extent of attachment security in children with disabilities has been debated, but numerous studies have suggested that children with disabilities are able to establish attachment bonds with parents and caregivers. Also from social worker perspective Theories of attachment can effectively predict the degree of motivation. Parents could be easily identified according to their abilities to understand exactly how a child needs to be treated. As attachment theory is a parent-child process which enables a person to understand how to learn and then subsequently respond to the world.

TABLE OF CONTENTS

ACKNOWLEDGEMENT2

DECLARATION3

ABSTRACT4

Disability defined7

Bowlby's Attachment Theory8

Attachment theory and disability8

Parenting Stress and Child Disability10

Disability perspective13

Disability Rights Movement14

Disability Rights Movement, Minority Group Model and the ADA16

Anti disability perspective17

Aims and objectives18

Research question18

Hypotheses18

CHAPTER 2: LITERATURE REVIEW19

Attachment Theory as it relates to Attitudes toward the Disabled26

The Relationship of Social Desirability to Disability Attitudes30

Attachment theory and social work30

CHAPTER 3: METHODOLOGY32

Rationale for a systematic review of literature32

Inclusion and exclusion criteria33

Ethical Concerns34

Data extraction system35

Data synthesis35

CHAPTER 4: DISCUSSION38

Problems with antidisability perspective49

Wolfensburg theory of normalisation and its perspective to Attachment Theory50

Implication for Clinical Practice50

CHAPTER 5: CONCLUSION58

Reflection59

REFERENCES61

CHAPTER 1: INTRODUCTION

Disability defined

In trying to identify the disability problem, the UNICEF approach relies on the framework of the World Health Organization (WHO) described in the 2001 International Classification of Functioning, Disability and Health (ICF). “As a classification, ICF systematically groups different domains for a person in a given health condition (e.g., what a person with a disease or disorder does do or can do) (Zimmerman & Fassler, 2003 p.258). Functioning is an umbrella term encompassing all body functions, activities and participation; similarly, disability serves as an umbrella term for impairment, activity limitations or ...