Fatherhood and learning disabilities: a personal account of reaction and resolution

Abstract

The reaction of fathers to a diagnosis of mental handicap is not well understood. This paper presents a highly personal account of reaction to, and resolution of, such a diagnosis as experienced by one father. The paper is constructed in such a way that the 'personal' world of this father is located within literature that would appear, in the main, to be concerned with the experience of mothers, and that has to a large extent ignored the experience of fatherhood. Classical theories of parenting are briefly outlined, followed by a section on reaction combining literature and other research from this area that is used to further enhance the author's belief that fathers' experiences are largely ignored or down-played. This section presents descriptive statistics along with quotations generated from some selective respondent interviewing. This is followed by a section on a study conducted by the author that includes quantitative and qualitative data. The final, and concluding, section explores resolution and describes the establishment of a support group for fathers that encourages mutual support and understanding of their experiences. The paper presents many challenges to professionals, but chiefly it requires them to think more deeply concerning the reaction and resolution of fathers to a diagnosis of mental handicap. I