Betydelsen av bärbara elektroniska hjälpmedel för barn med kognitiv funktionsnedsättning och deras familjer

Sammanfattning: The aim of this study was to describe how families with children, having cognitive disabilities, interacted with portable electronic assistive devices in their daily life. More specifically, its aim was to study the needs for families when they decided to use electronic assistive devices as assistance in their everyday lives, what everyday function they added value to and if they had the same meaning for children and parents. The study was based on ten interviews with family members from four families, where the children had began to use Handi or iPhone as cognitive assistance. Categories were identified and from those, eight themes were created that played important roles in the everyday lives of the families. The analyses were based on the indivduals’ experiences of their portable electronic assistive devices. The teoretical perspective is Salutogenetic perspectiv and KASAM. The interwied parents expected the electronic assisitive devices to strengthen the children's sense of coherence and increase their participation, autonomy and equality to children of the same age. The parents expressed that assistive devices were a resource for both the children and themselves as they made the children more independent, having taking over the role of everyday reminding. That resulted in lower stress levels, less anxiety and less conflicts in the families. The family situation as a whole developed in a positive direction. There was a high degree of agreement among the children and parents regarding the importance of the electronic assistive devices. This study gives a clear indication that children´s needs can not be classified by just looking at age or development, they have to be seen in their context, the family. The needs of the whole family has to be considered in order to promote the wellbeing and development of the children.