University of Northern Iowa UNI ScholarWorks Dissertations and Theses @ UNI Student Work 2016 "Joy for what it is": Narratives of two mothers on raising their children with disabilities Zeina H. Yousof University of Northern Iowa Let us know how access to this document benefits ouy Copyright ©2016 Zeina H. Yousof Follow this and additional works at: https://scholarworks.uni.edu/etd Part of the Special Education and Teaching Commons Recommended Citation Yousof, Zeina H., ""Joy for what it is": Narratives of two mothers on raising their children with disabilities" (2016). Dissertations and Theses @ UNI. 345. https://scholarworks.uni.edu/etd/345 This Open Access Dissertation is brought to you for free and open access by the Student Work at UNI ScholarWorks. It has been accepted for inclusion in Dissertations and Theses @ UNI by an authorized administrator of UNI ScholarWorks. For more information, please contact
[email protected]. Copyright by ZEINA H. YOUSOF 2016 All Rights Reserved “JOY FOR WHAT IS”: NARRATIVES OF TWO MOTHERS ON RAISING THEIR CHILDREN WITH DISABILITIES An Abstract of a Dissertation Submitted in Partial Fulfillment of the Requirements for the Degree Doctor of Education Approved: ________________________________ Dr. Amy J. Petersen, Committee Chair ________________________________ Dr. Kavita Dhanwada, Dean of the Graduate College Zeina H. Yousof University of Northern Iowa December 2016 ABSTRACT The purpose of this study was to explore the experiences of two mothers of children with disabilities on parenting their children and navigating the world of disabilities. For many parents, the diagnosis of a child with disabilities represents a form of interpersonal loss through the loss of the imagined child.