Taking care of the down syndrome bearer and his helping assistant

Abstract

This work is the result of my inquietude concerning the care practice of Down syndrome bearers and their helping assistants. It is comprised of the report of my experience that had as goals: discovering how one takes care of Down syndrome bearers and his helping assistant; reporting an experience of the Down syndrome bearer and his helping assistant, in an ambulatory, this speacial nurse service is an ambulatory, in accordance to three of Watson’s (1979, 1985) care factors, as follows: (1) sensitiveness; (2) faith and hope and (3) help and trust, emphasizing ethical and educative aspects; furthermore the author intends to sketch care strategies for these handicapped people in order to minimize inherent difficulties due to the deficit of specialized literature in the area. The practice scenario was the Ambulatório da síndrome de Down, ASD, in Hospital de Clínicas da Universidade Federal do Paraná, in the city Curitiba, State of Paraná. Care process ocurred through previously appointed encounters, in a dynamic trajectory in which the author maintained an empathetical connection and open dialogue with two Down syndrome bearers and their helping assistants, from May to August 1997. A keen participative observation made up the simple method of data collecting. The result experience allowed verifying that it is possible an implementation of Watson’s care factors, even with agnostic people, because everyone has their creed and their values. This difficult nurse duty has began in the ambulatório, providing help and support to these undergifted people and their helping assistants in order to face their special life condition, nevertheless permitting them a hopeful new horizon, making them a nearly normal and useful citizen in our always defective society.