Social citizenship perception of families with individuals with special needs: The case of Hakkâri province

Almost every mother and father wishes to have a child in order to add meaning to the phenomenon of family. It can be said that with the addition of the child to the family, family relations and dynamics will undergo a change. On the other hand, the birth of a child with a disability or the occurrence of any disability in the child in the future destroys the dreams of both mothers and fathers about their children. The presence of a child with special needs in the family has a great economic, psychological and social impact on family members. Along with the stress experienced by parents in the face of this difficult situation, it becomes extremely difficult for them to fulfil their functionality in daily life. The time, obligations, financial possibilities and emotional problems experienced in the fulfilment of the care of children with special needs can also bring stress to parents, and these problems trigger insufficient information, changing roles, restriction of social activities, and the need to be a social citizen within the family. The research was prepared on this basis and aimed to examine the social citizenship perceptions of parents with children with special needs. In the study, parents of children with special needs in the centre of Hakkari province constitute the sample group. The research was prepared with the phenomenology design, which is among the qualitative research methods for examining the social citizenship perceptions of families with children with special needs. Within the scope of the research, data were collected through a semi-structured interview form covering the information of the participants. According to the findings obtained as a result of the analyses, the opinions of the participant parents were shared. Keywords: Social Citizenship, Individual with Special Needs, Perception, Parent, Society.