Providing high quality education for all children regardless their abilities and difficulties has been treated as a crucial goal in initiatives and legislation for a long time [UNESCO 1994]. Special needs of students may result from their disability, emotional and behavioural problems, experiencing crisis situations, difficulties with adaptation and others. It is plausible that risk of having such needs is higher in children raised in foster families (as compared to birth families). This paper is a research report whose aim was to gain some insight into foster parents’ perception of special educational needs of their children and their subjective assessment of influence of previous experience of children on their academic achievements. In order to achieve this aim three focus group interviews with 21 foster parents of children at school ages were conducted. The findings show that a number of parents identify special educational needs resulting from e.g. emotional and behavioural difficulties and disabilities in their children. According to parents,  children’s academic achievements as well as emotional well-being is influenced by their (often negative) previous and present experiences. Implications for further research and practice are discussed.

The issue of the article concerns the problems of resilience in the mothers of children with disabilities. The study presents the results of own research. The aim of research was to determine the nature of dependence between resilience and coping strategies in difficult situations. As part of the undertaken issue, the intensity of resilience determinants, frequency of using specific strategies and relations between the two aspects of the adaptive functioning of mothers bringing up a child with a disability were established. It has been assumed that resilience is a personality trait. 101 women participated in the study - mothers of children with intellectual and motor disabilities, as well as with autistic spectrum disorders. The material was collected using the Skala Pomiaru Próżności (SPP-25) (SPP-25) and the Kwestionariusz COPE (The Coping Orientations to Problems Experienced). As a result of the applied canonical analysis, a significant but weak relationship between resilience and strategies was found. According to hypothetical assumptions positive relations of selected resilience indicators with task-oriented coping and negative ones with emotionalavoidance were established.

In this paper we discuss the new possibilities for a partnership between professionals and family members/caregivers of children with special needs in the field of early intervention. We suggest that coaching is the most effective form to guide intervention in the family-centered model of therapy. Coaching methods used by professionals in early intervention promote self-observation, reflexion and learning process among learners – parents/caregivers. So the process of the therapy is based on family knowledge and skills. In this perspective professionals use coaching technics to increase the family members competences how to improve child’s participation in everyday family life. This model offers a new view on the role of parents/caregivers, which are here the experts in their children’s therapy, not only observers on the professional intervention.

The article addresses issues related to the care of a premature baby and his family in the first months of his life. Premature delivery is a difficult situation from a medical and emotional perspective, especially for a child’s family. Preterm born children constitute a group of special risk of disability. Often, the period of pregnancy and the first months of a child’s life are a time of uncertainty for tomorrow, fear for a child’s life and health, longing for maternal closeness limited by medical procedures. It is a time that requires comprehensive support for the child and family. The article focuses on the perspective of mothers, brings their opinions and experiences about the received and expected support during the first months of the child’s life. It is also an attempt to identify the needs of the family of a child born prematurely

The purpose of this paper is to describe the possibilities of supporting families of children with rare disease and intellectual disability in the context of their needs. The research was embedded in the quantitative orientation using the diagnostic survey method and the Family Quality of Life Survey by I. Brown, R.I. Brown, N.T. Baum et al. 40 parents of children with rare disease and intellectual disability participated in the research. Two main research questions were formulated: Do parents of children with rare disease and intellectual disability receive practical and emotional support from members of the local community in which they live? To what extent parents of children with rare diseases and intellectual disabilities receive practical and emotional support from other people? Conducted research indicates that more than half of parents do not receive practical support from friends and neighbours regarding, for instance, shopping when the child is sick and the mother or father can not leave the house or helping with home activities, such as  preparing dinner. With regard to emotional support from members of the local community, it is difficult to indicate its degree. Thus, the need to be interested in family problems by members of the local community is not met.

The problems of development of the children with autism spectrum often require a lot of effort from parents. To overcome them without external assistance is a difficult and demanding task. In Poland, despite the increasing access to specialized services and information about autism spectrum, there is still a lack of sufficient support for families with autistic children. This gap is filled by actions from non-governmental organisations, professional support groups or unformal self-help groups. The scope of the article is the value of self-help activities, presented on the example of self-help group for parents with autistic children from Olsztyn.

The article will present issues related to the prevention of violence against people with Alzheimer’s disease. Theoretical issues of problems in everyday life of people in old age, diseases of old age, including Alzheimer's, will be presented. Will be includent the contents of violence against the elderly and prevention of the phenomenon will also be emphasized.

People with different types of disabilities may experience parenthood. From the point of view of parenting roles, the type, degree and causes of disability play an important role. It is also important whether it is a stable or deteriorating state. Parents with disabilities experience difficult situations in caring for and bringing up their children. However, despite this, parenting is also a source of their huge satisfaction.

The objective of this research was to find out the scale of teenage parenthood among students with intellectual disability who attend special education schools. It has been assumed that the upper age limit of becoming a mother or a father is 19 years. Another assumption made in the study has been that young people who become parents at the age of 19 are only starting their adult lives, thus they have no professional stability or their own flat and are not financially and economically independent. Students with disability, in particular of intellectual character, mostly still attend special education schools when they are 19. Therefore, when dealing with teenage parenting, the support provided by  teachers may be of utmost importance for the future of young parents, their baby and close relatives. The research involved thirty four facilities from twelve provinces in Poland. Most of them were special education and care centers, special education school complexes but also complexes of special care, education and revalidation centers. In the case of secondary schools, special basic vocational schools/classes and vocational preparatory schools were the most represented ones. To determine the scale of teenage parenting six time ranges were adopted that correlated with specific school years [except the last period which did not close at a fixed time], i.e. 2015/2016, 2014/2015, 2013/2014, 2012/2013, 2011/2012, 2010 and earlier.

The article is devoted to the topic of teenage motherhood of young women with intellectual disability in the perspective of their support. The authors present the results of the research conducted in this area – focus interview with vocational school for students with intellectual disabilities. The aim of the study was to get to know the meanings given to the process of supporting young mothers with intellectual disabilities. The analysis shows the essence of support given to young mothers by the school and help in the process of entering into adulthood through the family environment.

The article aims to present the activities of the social environment, taken against 25-year-old girl with complex disability, growing up in particularly conditions – both parents are people diagnosed with mental illness. The developmental path of the girl ran parallel to the educational and therapeutic institutions emerging at the place of residence for children with disabilities and forms of assistance for adults with disabilities. We can trace the child’s participation in various forms of education and support and follow the forms of help offered to the family. This biography is an example for showing the tasks to be fulfilled by the social environment for people with disabilities and their relatives, and how these tasks are fulfilled.

The article discusses the issue of the sense of self–dignity of homeless people. It presents the results of researches on the dignity and dignified treatment those who have no roof over their head and the results of authors’ own research, which referes to the specific sense of self–dignity of the homeless – the problem which so far is omitted in the national literature on pedagogy, psychology or sociology. Results of the research showed that lower level of the self–dignity was more characterizing homeless women comparing to homeless men (p < 0.001). Moreover taking the place of stay of the homeless under consderation – living on the „street” vs at a „hostel” - it turned out that the „street” homeless usually have higher sense of self -dignity than homeless living in hostels and other institutions providing 24-hour assistance for this group of people (p<0.05). The time of remaining in the homelessness also demonstrated the important difference between homeless persons with the shortest and longest period of being without the roof over their heads (p<0.01). It is not possible to generalize received data to the whole population of the homeless in Poland, however it can be a base for the next examination on the larger population of the homeless.

The analysis of available studies and clinical observations leads to the contemplation of what a challenge satisfying functioning in the sexual sphere is for adolescents with a spectrum of autistic disorders. This study compared follow-up data related to lifetime sexual experience in a group of adolescent boys with ASD (n=9), aged 16–19, with a matched group of boys in the general population (n = 20). Most boys in the ASD and control groups reported masturbation. The proportion of boys with ASD that had no partnered sexual experience was larger than in the control group. This difference was mostly explained by significantly fewer boys with ASD, compared with controls, who reported experience with kissing with girls and petting; no significant differences emerged relating to more intimate partnered sexual experiences. The results suggest the existence of a subgroup of boys who have not (yet) entered the arena of partnered sexual experiencesa finding in line with research in adult samples. The hypothesised sexual  developmental trajectories are subject to further research, but the sexual experience in this sample and the assumed developmental differences indicate the need for sexuality-related education and communication.

One of the key aspects of a human’s life is his sexuality. It is an inseparable element of every humanbeing. Everyone has the right to fulfill their intimacy. This problem is not easy, because it connects with a very delicate sphere of existence. Nevertheless, a lot can be done in  this are a through appropriate education. This subjectcan not be a kind of tabooalso in the context of people with disabilities.

People with intellectual disabilities are more prone to experience sexual abuse and experience deeper, more harmful consequences of such incidents. The data on the consequences of sexual abuse among people with intellectual disabilities have so far been incomplete, therefore there is a necessity for a multidisciplinary problem recognition from both theoretical and practical perspective. Sexual abuse and the scale of this phenomenon are characterized in the presented article. There is also a description of the research that was conducted in a group of people with intellectual disability, who had experienced sexual abuse. The study group demonstrated a very high incidence of post-operative stress syndrome (PTSD), as well as depression and addiction. The experience of sexual abuse plays significant role in the development of the individual, his wellbeing and mental health throughout his life. The results of the conducted research and the analysis of the literature on the selected topic indicate the need for targeted interventions aiming  both at reducing the negative effects of traumatic events experienced by children with intellectual disabilities, and promoting effective prevention strategies.