AbstractsSocial Work

The present study was first undertaken with the purpose of finding, in the Province of Quebec, the public and private institutions that accepted responsibility for the care of the congenitally abnormal child. The writer soon became aware of the limited resources in this province. During the course of this exploration this problem seemed to be overshadowed by other greater problems. Where were these children going upon hospital discharge? Who was giving them the care needed? Did the parents care for the child in the home? How did this placement in the home affect the parents and siblings? Parents, particularly, are affected by the birth of such a child, as the following quotation indicates. “How parents feel about their children is an emotional affair. What happens to them emotionally when their child is born with or acquires a physical impairment cannot be controlled either by intellect or good manners.” These questions and the concern with the parents’ emotional problems became the main interest in the study. The change in emphasis does not mean that the original problem of the need for placement facilities has been abandoned. Rather the focus of the study has been shifted to the emotional problems of the parents of these infants. How did the parents react to the birth of such a child? How was the child cared for? Therefore, we find that the locating of suitable placement facilities, while still important, is not the central issue of this study.[...]