This study aims to uncover the voices of mothers of upper elementary school-aged slow learners by weaving their ambiguous loss experiences. To accomplish this, three in-depth interviews were conducted with four mothers of slow learners. From a very young age, their children were subtly different from typically developing children. They sought a diagnosis from a doctor to alleviate their anxiety, but the process and result were also ambiguous. The mothers sought relief from their 'frozen grief' by labeling their children as 'slow learners.' Unfortunately, the lack of support and the reality of not belonging anywhere led them to experience feelings of guilt, confusion, and depression.
Subsequently, the mothers coped and adapted to the ambiguous loss, which was a struggle to move forward with the "yoke." They coped and adapted to ADHD medication, school, and society. Throughout this process, their most prominent quality was resilience, which culminated in a self-sustaining learning community called 'symbiosis.' The significance of this study is that it defined slow learners as 'a category that includes borderline intellectual functioning (IQ 71-84), showing lower intellectual and adaptive functioning, social skills, and learning abilities than typically developing individuals, resulting in difficulties in understanding, reasoning, and applying information comprehensively,' applied ambiguous loss theory to the ambiguous pain experienced by the participants, and was a qualitative study that lived with the participants for more than a year. Based on these findings, recommendations for further study and the society are made.

Authors:
Seungmin Han, Yonsei University, South Korea
Soon-Yong Pak, Yonsei University, South Korea

About the Presenter(s)
Ms Seungmin Han is a University Postgraduate Student at Yonsei University in South Korea

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