Dagmar Sedláčková

Changes in Czech legislation in 2016 created more favorable conditions for learners with special educational needs (SEN) and their involvement in mainstream schools. However, we do not have enough information about the educational experiences of pupils with SEN/their parents, and some types of SEN, for example, traumatic brain injury (TBI), are under-researched worldwide. A qualitative design was chosen to explore the lived experiences of a mother (52) of a learner with traumatic brain injury (14), educated in a typical elementary school. Semistructured interviews based on the biographical narration of the mother together with studying the pupil’s documentation and using a brief questionnaire with the pupil and three members of the school staff were all used for data collection. Data analyses carried out according to van Manen’s approach that revealed seven themes: (1) what helps, (2) barriers, (3) active life and well-being of the pupil, (4) decision-making, (5) social environment approach, (6) participation, and (7) the future. The results of this study point to a number of obstacles that the pupil and his mother faced in education and also represent the ways how to cope with them. The study depicts the school life of the pupil with TBI and his family and helps us perceive disability and what it brings to life from their perspective.