attitudes of parents towards their mentally retarded children: a rural ...

in adult life and whether the child could be a leader, a 'winner' and be able to stand up for himself
Mother's concerns generally focused on the emotional strain of caring for the retarded child, whether
the child will be accepted by others and will be happy regardless of academic achievement or job
success. The findings ofthis study may not be very relevant to the present time as the roles ofmothers
and fathers in family life have changed considerably.
Attitudes ofsiblings
Ntombela (1991) describes some of the feelings and the effects that the brothers and sisters of a
mentally retarded child experience. These feelings range from jealousy, shame, guilt, to frustration.
The siblings may feel jealous and even rejected, as the mentally retarded child demands the parent's
attention. These feelings are exacerbated by the material deprivation they may also experience due to
the increased financial responsibilities towards the disabled child. They may feel ashamed and as a
result become socially isolated as they feel that they cannot invite their fiiend's home, as other children
often tease them. Frequent feelings of guilt, a tendency to blame the handicapped sibling for the
problems in the family and depression may develop over a period of time. The siblings may feel
frustrated due to the parents restrictions concerning the kind of games and outings in which their
handicapped child and hislher siblings may be involved, so as to protect the handicapped child from
injury. There is also concern regarding the freedom that normal brothers and sisters enjoyed prior to
the birth of a child with a handicap and the chores and responsibilities assigned to them as a result of
parent's involvement with the handicapped child.
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