SHARING IS CARING:
PARENTING CHILDREN WITH SEVERE DISABILITIES IN CLOSE COLLABORATION WITH PROFESSIONALS.

Back to invited symposia

CHAIR: Sien Vandesande (KU Leuven)
Dr. Sien Vandesande (KU Leuven, Belgium): Attachment among children with PIMD: a different story?
Dr. Ines Van keer (KU Leuven, Belgium): Family patterns of interaction in children with PIMD.
Jacqueline Van Tuyll-Van Serooskerken (VU Amsterdam, the Netherlands): Self-determination in persons with PIMD.
Prof. Dr. Jorien Luijkx (RU Groningen, the Netherlands): Supporting the well-being of families raising a child with PIMD.
In this invited symposium, we will discuss the unique group of children with profound intellectual and multiple disabilities (PIMD). An introduction will be provided on the target group, the development of attachment relationships between parents and children with PIMD and parenting within these families (including their family routines). Moreover, we will discuss the ways in which professionals and parents as experts-by-experience can work together to provide optimal care with chances for the self-determination of persons with PIMD.

Sien Vandesande is a postdoctoral researcher at KU Leuven’s Parenting and Special Education research unit, within the INOVHO group of Prof. Dr. Bea Maes. She holds a Doctoral degree in Educational Sciences (November 2021). Her main research interest is the attachment relationship between parents and children with severe or profound intellectual (or multiple) disabilities. Her current project is on sharing the care for children with severe disabilities, between parents and professional caregivers at residential care facilities.