Klaipėdos universitetas

Parenthood is quite rare among physically disabled adults in Finland, and becoming a parent can be labelled as a taboo act. In this paper, we shed a light on this salient topic by scrutinising the experiences of Finnish mothers and fathers with physical disabilities. The research questions are: (1) How do mothers and fathers describe their agency as parents? and (2) How is their agency constructed within social structures and relations? The analysis is based on qualitative teller-focused interviews with 17 mothers and fathers. The results reveal their agencies as multidimensional, and demonstrate how parenthood is constructed through interaction within institutional spaces. Personal support, peers and NGOs also play an important role in the construction of agency. Interaction can either limit, question or support the agency of disabled people as parents. The results show that the parents have strong agency in using their knowledge, and flexible resources when meeting the demands.

The aim of this study was to describe family social work through analyzing the roles of social workers. Qualitative research was carried out in three big cities of Lithuania: Vilnius, Kaunas and Klaipėda. Semi-structured interviews were conducted with 25 family social workers. A discursive psychology approach was chosen. Family social workers’ interpretative roles repertoires appear among professional, public and organizational discourses. The results showed that family social workers categorise professional roles in relation to different everyday practices that depend on situated language use in the contexts in which they take place.