Browsing by Subject "Erityisperhe"

This study reviews the everyday life of special needs families during the Covid-19-pandemic. In special needs families at least one child has an increased need for services for their health, growth and/or development. Previous studies show that these services are an important resource and help in everyday life, as it is often built around taking care of the child. In previous studies special needs families have mainly been reviewed during normal conditions and the more recent studies conducted during the pandemic emphasize the perspective of authorities. The purpose of this study is to highlight the everyday life of special needs families during the Covid-19-pandemic and how services have been organized. This study applies qualitative methodology. The data was collected by semi-structured interviews. Seven mothers of special needs families took part in the interviews. The families were from across Finland. The family structures, children’s diagnoses and available resources varied within these families. Tran scripted data was analyzed with content analysis. The study shows that the everyday life of the families focused at home during the Covid-19-pandemic, which led to everyday life routines, free time and use of money changing. During the pandemic the families had to quickly rebuild their everyday life and its routines. Everyday life became more restricted as the routines focused at home. Parents' free time decreased as the children did not attend school or free-time activities. The meaning of home and its surroundings were highlighted because families were not able to spend their time together in shopping centers or restaurants. It became apparent that the realization of services varied between the families during the Covid-19-pandemic. During the pandemic the services were no longer considered safe due to the increased risk of infection, which led to some of the services coming to a halt and the implementation of special arrangements to other services. The decision of realization of the services was partly held by the service providers, while in some cases the families made the decision themselves to pause the service. The need for help in the families did not decrease and especially mothers had to answer this with their own work input. The families found the service system to be rigid and hoped for more flexibility from their service providers. That would mean considering the wishes of the family and the focusing on the best interest of the child.