Spirituality and Organised Religion in Supporting Parents of Children with Down Syndrome and Intellectual Disability
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Edith Cowan University Research Online Theses : Honours Theses 2010 Spirituality and organised religion in supporting parents of children with Down syndrome and intellectual disability Divia Pillay Edith Cowan University Follow this and additional works at: https://ro.ecu.edu.au/theses_hons Part of the Cognitive Psychology Commons, Congenital, Hereditary, and Neonatal Diseases and Abnormalities Commons, and the Other Religion Commons Recommended Citation Pillay, D. (2010). Spirituality and organised religion in supporting parents of children with Down syndrome and intellectual disability. https://ro.ecu.edu.au/theses_hons/1358 This Thesis is posted at Research Online. https://ro.ecu.edu.au/theses_hons/1358 Edith Cowan University Copyright Warning You may print or download ONE copy of this document for the purpose of your own research or study. 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COPYRIGHT AND ACCESS DECLARATION I certify that this thesis does not, to the best ofmy knowledge and belief (i) Incorporate without acknowledgment any material previously submitted for a degree or diploma in any institution of higher degree or diploma in any institution of higher education; (ii) Contain any material previously published or written by another person except where due reference is made in the text ofthis thesis; or (iii) Contain any defamatory material. (iv) Contain any data that has not been collected in a manner consistent with ethics approval. The Ethics Committee may refer any incidents involving requests for ethics approval after data collection to the relevant Faculty for action. Signed Date ..<f.-:: Lt ..l. 9.1J~ ~. ~ .................. Spirituality and Organised religion I Spirituality and Organised religion in supporting parents of children with Down syndrome and intellectual disability: Divia Pillay EDITH LIBRARY A report submitted in Partial Fulfilment of the Requirements for the Award of Bachelor of Science (Occupational Therapy) (Honours), Faculty of Computing, Health and Science, Edith Cowan University. Submitted October, 2010 I declare that this written assignment is my own work and does not include: iii. Material from published sources used without proper acknowledgement; or iv. Material copied from work of other students Signature:I Date: ~'-1- Jo\ ) d,-0 \ \ Spirituality and Organised religion TI Declaration I certify that this literature review and researcJ.i_ project does not incorporate, without acknowledgment, any material previously submitted for a degree or diploma in any institution of higher education and that, to the best of my knowledge and belief, it does not contain any material previously published or written by another person except where due reference is made in the text. Signature. Date ~L:\:} O\ / 2C\\ Spirituality and Organised religion Acknowledgement This review and research project was made possible through the collaboration of both Telethon Institute for Child Health Research and Edith Cowan University. First and foremost, I would like to thank my supervisors for their guidance and invaluable feedback through this research project. I owe my deepest gratitude to Dr Helen Leonard for her ongoing support, guidance and immense knowledge. Your dedication and passion towards your work has inspired me. I am deeply grateful to Dr Sonya Girdler for her patience, steady guidance, supervision and expertise in all areas of research. I would like to show my gratitude to Ms Marie Collins for her encouragement, inspiring words and guidance in the areas of Spirituality and organised religion. I am eternally grateful to Ms Ami Bebbington for her assistance and knowledge with all things statistically related. I would like to sincerely thank Ms Jenny Bourke for her supervision, guidance and encouragement and last minute editing. I would also like to extend thanks to Stephanie Fehr for all her help and patience through the year. I would also like to give my sincere appreciation and gratitude to the mothers who participated in this study. I am aware that you have shared very personal aspects of your life with me and I am very grateful for the generous spirit in which you did this. As a result my honours thesis has taken on a personal dimension that I was not expecting. Without your efforts this research could not have been completed. Finally I would also like to acknowledge my family and friends for their patience, understanding and advice. It would have been impossible for me to finish my work without their support. Thank you for your unfailing faith in me. Spirituality and Organised religion Table of Contents Spirituality and Organised religion in supporting parents of children with Down syndrome and intellectual disability: A narrative review ........................................................................... 1 Abstract ..................................................................................... :................................................ 2 Introduction ................................................................................................................................ 3 Theoretical Framework .............................................................................................................. 4 Methods ...................................................................................................................................... 5 Search concepts used .............................................................................................................. 5 Inclusion Criteria .................................................................................................................... 5 Results ........................................................................................................................................ 6 Spirituality .............................................................................................................................. 6 Faith .................................................................................................................................... 6 Coping ................................................................................................................................. 6 Making sense of disability .................................................................................................. 7 Meaning of disability and acceptance ................................................................................. 7 Coping: using personal and religious beliefs ...................................................................... 9 Prayer ................................................................................................................................ 10 Organised religion ................................................................................................................ 10 Support from religious organisations ................................................................................ 10 Types of support provided by a religious organisation..................................................... 12 Perceived support from a religious organisation .............................................................. 12 Religion and Family belief systems .................................................................................. 13 Importance of Family Belief systems ............................................................................... 14 Hope .................................................................................................................................. 15 Discussion /Conclusion ............................................................................................................ 15 References ................................................................................................................................ 18 Research Report: Spirituality and Down Syndrome: ............................................................... 25 . Ab . stract ....................... , ............................................................................................................ 26 Spirituality and Organised religion v Introduction .............................................................................................................................. 27 Quantitative data ...................................................................................................................... 28 Methods ................................................................................................................................ 28 Participants ........................................................................................................................ 28 Materials ..........................................................................................................................