Seniorzy w sieci wsparcia społecznego dziecka niepełnosprawnego i jego rodziny

Abstract

Social support is considered as a special kind of assistance and relationship between the giver and the receiver thereof. It exists under certain social circumstances which foster the assisted person’s development. The potential informal support networks include family which, in conditions of coping with a child’s disability, assumes superior significance in everyday care, but also in the processes of raising, treatment, rehabilitation, or education. In this paper, I have focused on the difficulties experienced by disabled children and their parents, as well as on the support provided to them by the elderly members of their families whom I consider to be a significant human resource in family support networks for difficult situations.