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The article addresses the issue of life stories of people with intellectual disabilities, analysing their importance from an individual and group perspective. The potential of this method was highlighted referring to selected studies of people with intellectual disabilities. Functions designated by Elżbieta Dubas were used as the basis for the analysis. Competences relevant to the implementation of life stories have been considered, taking into account their possible limitations in people with disabilities. The focus was on the properties of cognitive processes, but personality competences were also recognized. Potential difficulties related to implementation in this group were noted and ways of overcoming them were suggested. The usefulness of life stories and life histories for the practice of care and rehabilitation of people with intellectual disabilities has been shown.

W artykule przeanalizowano wybrane zagadnienia pokazujące potencjał osób z niepełnosprawnością intelektualną w zakresie realizowania ról społecznych. W analizie przeglądowej wykorzystano wyniki dostępnych badań podejmowanych w Polsce oraz za granicą, pokazujących m.in. udział tych osób w rolach opiekuńczych (wynikających ze stosunków rodzinnych, działalności wolontaryjnej i zawodowej) oraz funkcjonowanie w rolach rodzicielskich, partnerskich, zawodowych i self-adwokackich. Tego rodzaju zagadnienia, obrazujące potrzeby, możliwości, satysfakcję, ale również trudności niepełnosprawnych intelektualnie, są ważne zarówno dla procesu rodzinnej socjalizacji, jak i projektowania założeń edukacji i rehabilitacji.

Numerous explorations of how parents with children with disabilities function have to date largely adopted a negative perspective. The development of theories focusing on positive experiences of living with disability extended the analysis of parental functioning. Researchers are showing more interest in phenomena which suggest significant positive stress-related changes in the personal and social functioning of mothers and fathers of children with disabilities. Such changes are explained in various theories. This study examines selected topics, such as posttraumatic/stress-related growth, organismic valuing process, and transformation theory. The authors of these theories focus on changes in key belief systems, such as beliefs about self, other people, and the world. The basic assumptions of these theories are analyzed and related to parents with a child with disability. Referring to the results of the available qualitative research, the author shows positive changes connected with raising children with disabilities experienced by parents and suggests what their underlying factors may be.

The article analyzes the relationship between (perceived and affiliate) courtesy stigma and self-concept among spouses of individuals with physical disabilities. The sample consisted of 85 spouses of individuals with physical disabilities. The data was collected using the Courtesy Stigma Questionnaire by Stanisława Byra and Monika Parchomiuk and the Tennessee Self-Concept Scale by William H. Fitts. The respondents reported significantly higher results for perceived stigma compared to affiliate stigma. Courtesy stigma manifestations are similar in the cognitive, affective and behavioral aspects. The study found significant relationships between the dimensions of courtesy stigma and self-concept aspects. The highest contribution in accounting for the specific aspects of self-concept (e.g. moral self, personal self, social self) is presented by the affective component of courtesy stigma. Statistically significant, although minor, contribution is also presented by the behavioral component, especially for the physical self, self-criticism and identity scales. The cognitive component of courtesy stigma was found not to account for the self-concept of the spouses in any way.