Small great joys - joy as a psychic resource in parents of children with intellectual disabilities

The arrival in the family of a child with intellectual disabilities is a very difficult experience for any parent. Anxiety about the future, stressful situations and coping problems are the basis of adaptation difficulties in parents raising a child with intellectual disabilities. The adaptation process itself is much slower as a result of specific factors inherent in the process itself and from the fact of the offspring’s intellectual disabilities. Joy becomes an important psychological resource that can perform a protective and strengthening function in the face of chronic stress. The purpose of this discussion is to show joy as a psychic resource that can play a significant role in the process of parents’ adaptation to life with a child with intellectual disabilities.