A child's mobility impairment affects the whole family, it is a unique life experience, but also a great ordeal. A family with a child with a disability needs to change and adapt many things in their way of life, which affects the quality of life of all its members.
In my master's thesis I researched how the subjective and objective assessment of the quality of life of a family with a child with mobility impairment is affected by the amendment to the Personal Assistance Act, according to which a parent who was the child's family assistant can now become his personal assistant.
The research method was a case study of a family with a child with a mobility impairment. Four people participated, person with mobility impairments, parents and sister. Based on the complete questionnaires from 2017, when they exercised the right to a family assistant and the questionnaires from 2020, after the amendment of the Personal Assistance Act, I obtained a subjective assessment of satisfaction in various areas of quality of life.
An objective assessment of the quality of life I obtained by analysing objective data in the fields of material well-being and rights and in areas of physical and emotional well-being by comparing the laws and regulations governing the field of family assistant and personal assistance and health and well-being of mother.
A comparison of the data showed that the change of status from family assistant to personal assistant affects the subjective and objective assessment of the quality of life of the family in all areas. Differences exist in all areas of quality of life: material well-being, physical well-being, personal development, emotional well-being, self-determination, interpersonal relationship, social inclusion and rights. In the area of self-determination the difference in satisfaction assessment was highest. An analysis of the objective data also showed that there are differences between the status of family assistant and personal assistant in the areas of material well-being and rights and in areas of physical and emotional well-being. All variables are rated higher after the status changed.
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