PARENTHOOD AND SOCIAL EVALUATIONOF SPECIAL CHILDREN

摘要

Parenthood involves a construction process together with the couple, in which men participate with women in caring, assisting and upbringing the children, in a supportive way. It becomes a function, sieved by the imperatives implied by social speeches. Men are no longer those biologically beings having children, nor the ones granting a name or family name, but the ones involved, participant and responsible in caring, upbringing and assisting children's needs. Parents of children with special needs are identified as a socially different circle from those parents of "normal" children. The purpose of the present work was to describe the parenthood with respect to social values of special needs' children. Results show that attitude towards children with special needs is generally surprising, compassionating and rejecting, among others; consequently, fatherhood requires a higher commitment in terms of time, availability and involvement in family relationship. This usually leads to a questioning and rethinking of alternative forms as men and fathers.