This constructivist study examined the perceptions that an interdisciplinary team has about themselves in the work setting and during fieldwork interactions while working with client families. Twelve staff members of a program that provides supportive services for the families of severely handicapped children responded to a bank of fifteen questions in an effort to examine the relationship between team members perceptions of their roles and how those perceptions affect their job performance and satisfaction.

The purpose of the study is to explore the difficulties and experiences that foster parents have in accessing services and what can be done to alleviate some of these obstacles.

The lives of family members of a child with a developmental disability are typically influenced by acute as well as chronic stressful events. These families are compared to families of typically developing children. In order for a family with a child with a developmental disability to function as effectively as possible, it may be necessary to renegotiate and reassign traditional family roles of parent, spouse, brother and sister.

Thesis (M. Cur.) -- University of Limpopo, 2015. / Background:The experiences of families living with the mentally handicapped childrenwho attended the Bana Ba Thari School in the Polokwane Municipality of the Limpopo Province were never evaluated and, therefore, the experiences of families werenot known. Theaim:The aim of this study wasto describe the experiences of the families caring for the mentally handicapped children who attended theBana Ba Thari School in thePolokwane Municipality of theLimpopo Province, South Africa. Study methodology:A qualitative phenomenological research approach was used.Data was collected from 23 families who cared for their mentally handicapped children by conductingsemi-structured face-to-face interviews. Data wasaudio recorded and field notes were written down. Data was analysed using Tech’s open coding method forqualitative research.After the Medunsa Research and Ethics Committee had given ethic clearance for this study to be conducted, the Department of Education also gave permission for the study to be conducted.After the Medunsa Research and Ethics Committee had given ethic clearance for this study to be conducted, the Department of Education also gave permission for the study to be conducted.Ethical considerations and measures to ensure trustworthiness were observedand adhered to while conducting the study. The results:The results showed that the parents lackedadequateknowledge about mentally handicapped children which ledto poor interaction.The study also revealed a gap of knowledge from various professions likedoctors andeducators which ledto poor intervention and delay of therapy for the mentally handicapped children. The study also revealed the psychological impact on the parents and siblings.Parents worriedabout the future of their mentally handicapped children, which led to their denial andanxiety while the siblings became depressed. Parents also experienced a physiological impact, socio-economic problems, lack of resources at school like material for rehabilitation, and lack of transport to take their children to school every day. In addition,it was found that most of the parents and siblings didnot get continuing psychological support. vi Conclusion and recommendations:It is recommended that government and agencies should provide assessment and therapy facilities for mentally handicapped children and their parents. It is also recommended that professionals like doctors and educatorsstill need to undergoin-service training with regard to mentally handicapped learners to enable them to make proper decisions or to execute accurate interventions.

This study examined the effects of an Adlerian-based parent education program on parental stress and perception of Learning Disabled (LD) childrens' behavior. Forty parents, randomly assigned to treatment or waiting-list control groups, took the Parental Stress Index (PSI) and the Adlerian Parental Assessment of Child Behavior Rating Scale (APACBS) as pre and post tests. Parents in the treatment group attended a six-session Active Parenting program. No significant differences were found on the analysis of covariance for perceived parental stress following the parent education program. Seventy percent of the parents in this study had total PSI scores in the range defined as high stress by the PSI author. All of the PSI Child Domain pretest z scores were elevated indicating that parents perceive their LD children to be demanding, moody, distractible, and unadaptable. LD children's behavior is perceived as unacceptable and does not positively reinforce parents. The elevated z scores on the PSI parent Domain pretest indicate that parents of LD children feel less competent as parents and experience less attachment to their children than do parents of normal children. No significant differences were found on the APACBS following treatment, but 80 percent of the parents in the treatment group did perceive some positive behavior change. A positive correlation was found between the PSI and the APACBS indicating that perceived parental stress and child behavior are related. Parents identified 67 perceived stresors of raising LD children on a questionnaire. The results of this study indicate that parents of LD children perceive themselves to experience greater parenting stress than parents of normal childrenn. This perceived parental stress was not reduced and perception of children's behavior was not improved after participation in the Active Parenting program. Therefore, parent education groups for parents of LD children may need to be smaller, provide more time to address the issues specific to raising an LD child, and include a stronger counseling emphasis in order to provide more emotional support for these highly stressed parents.

Background. The experience of parenting children with Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD) is generally understood to encompass higher levels of parenting stress relative to families of typically developing children and, in many instances, when viewed in comparison to children with other disabilities. Emerging evidence suggests that when children with ASD present with elevated attention problems, parents may be more likely to engage in harsh parenting during dyadic interactions (Donnelly, 2015). Despite this, few studies have examined the relationship between attention problems and observed parenting in families of children with ASD, which has been well-described in the literature as a particularly challenging context for parents. This dissertation investigated the relationship between child attention and observed parenting behaviors in a community sample of mothers of children with ASD in early childhood. The extent and nature of this relationship was further explored by observing whether parenting stress and depression played a role in mediating this relationship, and by investigating whether the relationship varied by child behavior and level of functioning. Parenting behaviors were directly observed across three dyadic tasks selected to approximate naturalistic situations in which parents and their children interact. It was hypothesized that increased attention problems would be linked to greater parenting stress, decreased positive parenting, and increased harsh parenting. Increased understanding of how attention problems relate to parenting within an ASD population will inform the selection and design of interventions uniquely suited to meet the needs of children and their families. Methods. This sample of 42 mother-child dyads included children with ASD attending a specialized preschool, where they received Applied Behavior Analysis educational programming. Child participants ranged in age from two years, six months to five years, six months, and all diagnostic classifications were corroborated through the Autism Diagnostic Observation Schedule, Second Edition (Lord et al., 2012). Parent and child behaviors during dyadic interactions were video recorded and then coded using the Psychological Multifactor Care Scale — ASD Adapted Preschool Version (Brassard, Donnelly, Hart, & Johnson, 2016). These direct observations of parent and child behavior were used to examine quality of parenting, child negativity toward the mother, and child engagement in tasks during parent-child interactions. Following the interaction, mothers completed a number of self-report measures assessing demographic characteristics, Parenting Stress Index, Fourth Edition, Short Form (PSI-4: SF; Abidin, 2012, maternal depressive symptoms on the PHQ9 (Kroenke, Spitzer, & Williams, 2001), and the Attention Problems scale on the Child Behavior Checklist (Achenbach & Rescorla, 2001). Classroom teachers completed the Communication domain of the Vineland Adaptive Behavior Scales –Third Edition (Vineland-3; Sparrow, Cicchetti, & Saulnier, 2016). Results. Children with ASD and clinically elevated attention problems (n = 19) had signifiantly lower verbal ability, more CBCL aggression, and their mothers reported signficantly more stress than children with ASD only (n = 23). Observed child engagement was significntly correlated with CBCL attention problems in the overall sample (r = -.42, p<.01), although the groups (ASD only v. ASD plus elevated attention problems) did not differ significantly (p < .06). Increased attention problems were significantly negatively related to positive parenting in this sample, even when ASD severity and verbal ability were controlled. Although a mediation model failed to support a model where attention problems predicted differences in observed parenting through parenting stress, reverse models showed increased positive parenting predicted decreased child attention problems through its effect on parenting stress. The role of maternal depressive symptoms as a mediator of this relationship was unsupported. Perhaps unsurprisingly, observed child behavior was found to be an important factor in understanding parenting behavior; however, the nature of its role was multifaceted. While observed child negativity was directly linked to lower levels of positive parenting, it moderated the relationship between child attention problems and harsh parenting, as mediated by parenting stress. In particular, attention problems were positively linked to greater stress, but this stress was more likely to be accompanied by a greater increase in harsh parenting behavior when children demonstrated negativity toward their mothers. The relationship between child attention problems and positive parenting varied by child verbal ability. For children with higher verbal ability, attention problems were linked to a drop in positive parenting, while this relationship was unsupported in children with underdeveloped communication skills. Conclusions. Child attention problems are a powerful predictor of parenting stress and less positive parenting. While it was expected that variation in attention problems would predict differences in parenting, reverse models showed more promise in identifying and defining the relationship between these variables, where mothers who exhibited more harsh parenting and less positive parenting experienced higher levels of parenting stress and their children demonstrated increased attentional problems and decreased engagement during dyadic interactions. The strength of this relationship varied according to observed child negativity and level of functioning. Clinical implications for practitioners and future directions for research investigating parenting children with ASD are discussed.

The issues of maintenance between parents and children (comparative study) This diploma thesis deals with the issues of maintenance between parents and children. The maintenance is a traditional institute of civil law, which systematically belongs to family law. The family law concerns in general way more or less an everyday life of individual in society. The issues of maintenance are current and constantly developing topic, which the society pays traditionally significant attention to. The specific type of maintenance that is maintenance between parents and children represents from the point of frequency the most widespread type of maintenance, which is exercised in the society, especially as regards maintenance obligation of parents to children. It is possible to state, that the maintenance is a legal institute which is not the object of interest only of the legal public, but it is the topic which is discussed and closely watched by the entire society This diploma thesis is held as the comparative study, the legal regulation of the Czech Republic is compared through the diploma thesis with the legal regulation of Federal Republic of Germany. From the point of structure the thesis is divided into introduction, twelve main chapters and conclusion. The first chapter deals with general issues of maintenance,...

The purpose of this study was to explain the ways in which parents of children with hearing impairments access counseling services. In order to focus attention on these issues, a research question and objectives were formulated: In what ways did parents of children with hearing impairments in Zimbabwe access counseling services during the period 1999 to 2000? Five distinct but related major issues, in relation to parents of children with hearing impairments accessing counseling services in Zimbabwe during the period 1999 to 2000 emerged. This came from observation of practice, personal experiences, and discussions with parents. The objectives of the study were thus formulated as follows: · to find out who counseled parents of children with hearing impairments. · to investigate whether parents who received or did not receive counseling were aware of organizations that offered guidance and counseling. · to find out parents’ perceptions on whether or not counseling helped them to accept and cope with their children. · to establish the qualifications of the counselors who counseled parents of children with hearing impairments. · to explore recommendations by parents on ways in which counseling can be made more accessible in Zimbabwe. A pilot study was conducted in which two questionnaires that covered the research question and the five objectives were constructed and refined. Subsequently a survey was carried out on a sample of 300 parents of children with hearing impairments and 28 counseling service organizations. The questionnaires sought to find out: who counseled parents of children with hearing impairments, their views about the counseling they received, whether they were able to accept and cope with their children after counseling and their views on how counseling could be made more accessible. The questionnaire to service organizations sought to establish the qualifications of their counselors, the needs of parents of children with hearing impairments and their views on what they thought could be done to help parents access counseling services. Female and male parents were compared in terms of their sources of counseling, acceptance and coping with children of different genders and different age groups. Quantitative data on organizations and parents’ responses were analyzed using descriptive statistics. Qualitative analysis was used to analyze data from open-ended questions collected from parents of children with hearing impairments. Results from the study indicate that the majority of the parents received counseling from special schools, followed by individuals, then hospitals, churches, registered counseling organizations and friends. Slightly more than half of the parents were aware of registered organizations that offer counseling services. Most parents believed that counseling helped them and were able to cope with their children after counseling. The majority of the counselors who counseled parents of children with hearing impairments were not qualified. Most parents indicated that they faced difficulties in communication, financial constraints, societal attitude, lack of transport and lack of skills to teach children basic living skills. Parents suggested the use of parent support groups, workshops and advertisements as means of making counseling services more accessible. / Thesis (PhD (Learning Support, Guidance and Counceling))--University of Pretoria, 2004. / Educational Psychology / unrestricted

Indiana University-Purdue University Indianapolis (IUPUI) / There are children in this world who are silenced by disability. The struggles of these children as they attempt to find a voice are difficult and often considered insurmountable. With advances in computer technology, devices are available to assist the child to have a voice. This voice is not found easily or acquired without difficulty. Even after finding and acquiring the necessary device, the child requires education and support to learn to use the device effectively. Challenges may be specific to the child’s disability, the support systems involved with the child, or even the technology itself. It is the adults in the child’s life, and the child’s family in particular, who provide needed support and assistance in helping him/her find an effective way of expressing his/her ideas. Families are an essential component in assisting their children to learn to use the device. My pilot study examined parents’ likes and dislikes of their child’s communication device. The preliminary data from that study illuminated several factors that increased the struggles of these children and their families as they work together to learn the device. These factors include financial, emotional, and developmental costs; as well as the lack of appropriately trained professionals; and excessive time lapses from evaluation to receipt of the device. The purpose of this study was to give a voice to the experiences of families around a child’s use of one type of augmentative and alternative (AAC), a speech generating device (SGD), by analyzing family’s experiences of the child’s use of a SGD as seen through the lens of the child’s primary caregiver. Interpretive phenomenologic methods for data collection and interpretation were used to elucidate the experience of families who have a child who is currently using or who has previously used a SGD as a method of communication. One cannot learn about the lived experience of the family without first listening to their story and allowing the family to share how their child’s use of a SGD affected the life of their family.

Syfte: Syftet med denna studie var att beskriva föräldrars erfarenheter om social delaktighet på lekplatser för barn med fysiska funktionsnedsättningar. Metod: Studien genomfördes som en kvalitativ intervjustudie med semistrukturerade intervjuer, där 12 föräldrar till barn med fysiska funktionsnedsättning intervjuades. Vid analysen av intervjuerna använde författarna en kvalitativ innehållsanalys, vilket resulterade i 2 kategorier. Resultat: Utifrån föräldrarnas erfarenheter visade resultaten att otillgängliga lekplatser begränsade eller hindrade deras barn att vara socialt delaktiga. Det framkom också att tillgängliga lekplatser kunde möjliggöra barn med fysiska funktionsnedsättningars sociala delaktighet om de tillgängliga delarna inte separerades från resterande lekredskap. Föräldrarnas erfarenheter var att framkomligheten på lekplatserna var av stor vikt för att möjliggöra deras barns lek med andra. Resultatet visade även att föräldrarna hade erfarenhet att bemötas av negativa attityder, oförståelse och bristande kunskap från hemkommuner och lekplatsskapare. Barnens beroende av föräldrarnas stöd för att ta sig runt på lekplatser fick föräldrarna att känna sig som ett hinder för deras barn att leka och umgås med andra barn. Slutsats: Slutsatser från studien är att involvera föräldrar till barn med fysiska funktionsnedsättningar och deras barn i skapandet av lekplatsmiljöer för att främja social delaktighet. Vidare diskuteras behovet av arbetsterapeutisk kompetens om meningsfulla aktiviteter samt kunskap om att anpassa miljöer utifrån barns behov kan utgöra ett bra stöd till skaparna av lekplatser för att möjliggöra social delaktighet genom att utforma tillgängliga lekplatser för alla oavsett förmåga. / Aim: The aim of this study was to describe parents experiences of social participation in playgrounds for children with physical disabilities. Method: The study was conducted as a qualitative interview study with semi-structured interviews, where 12 parents of children with physical disabilities were interviewed. When analyzing the interviews, the authors used a qualitative content analysis, which resulted in 2 categories. Results: Based on parents experiences, the results showed that inaccessible playgrounds limited or prevented their children from being socially involved. It also emerged that accessible playgrounds could enable children's social participation if the accessible parts were not separated from the rest of the play equipment. Parents experiences were that the accessibility of playgrounds was of great importance to enable their children to play with others. The results also showed that parents experienced negative attitudes, incomprehension, and lack of knowledge from local authorities and playground designers. Children's dependence on parental support to get around playgrounds made parents feel like a barrier to their children being able to play and socialize with other children. Conclusion: Conclusions from the study is to involve parents of children with physical disabilities and their children in the creation of playground environments to promote social inclusion. It further discusses the need for occupational therapy skills on meaningful activities and knowledge on adapting environments based on children's needs can provide good support to playground designers to enable social inclusion by designing accessible playgrounds for everyone regardless of ability.