Hope in Families of Children with Developmental Disabilities

Abstract

The focus of this study was to explore and understand the experiences of hope in families of children with disabilities. Based on a qualitative research design, nineteen parents participated in this study. Eight common themes have been identified within participants' descriptions during the process of data analysis. Hope has been identified as a positive transformation and dynamic process that helped parents to reframe their lives in view of their experience with children with disabilities. The way families deal with the experience of childhood disability has been the focus of diverse studies in the past two decades (Barnett & Boyce, 1995;