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Mothers' perceptions of their disabled children: A review of the literature

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Abstract

A review of the literature indicates few generalizations that can be made about mothers' perceptions of their disabled children. Perceptions differ widely and are generally unrelated to the type of disability, although there are some indications that perceptions of severely disabled children tend to be more negative than those of children with less severe disabilities. Maternal perceptions usually are not accurate in the sense that they do not agree with the perceptions of rehabilitation professionals, teachers, or their own disabled children. Nevertheless, maternal perceptions are important since they influence how mothers behave toward their children. Rehabilitation personnnel should consider ways of influencing maternal perceptions so they are in the best interests of disabled children.

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Yuker, H.E. Mothers' perceptions of their disabled children: A review of the literature. Journal of the Multihandicapped Person 1, 217–232 (1988). https://doi.org/10.1007/BF01102625

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