Case study of meeting the needs of families with children with special needs

Magistrsko delo obravnava zadovoljitev potreb družin z majhnimi otroki s posebnimi potrebami v obdobju zgodnje obravnave. Da bi lahko družinam zagotavljali primerno in potrebno pomoč v času zgodnje obravnave, je potrebno prepoznati njihove potrebe na različnih področjih. V raziskavi smo preverjali, kakšne so potrebe družin v procesu zgodnje obravnave na naslednjih področjih: potrebe po informacijah o otrokovem stanju, potrebe po podpori, potrebe po pomoči pri pojasnjevanju otrokovega stanja drugim, potrebe po zagotavljanju različnih storitev, potrebe po finančni podpori in potrebe po pomoči v delovanju družine. Vse potrebe so bile preverjane glede na spol starša, starost otroka s posebnimi potrebami ter glede na opredelitev posebnih potreb otroka v odločbi o usmeritvi. Raziskava je bila opravljena na vzorcu sto dvajsetih (120) družin, ki imajo otroka s posebnimi potrebami. Pokazala se je dejanska potreba staršev po dodatnih informacijah o storitvah, ki so in bodo v prihodnosti na voljo za njihovega otroka, ter po storitvah v bližini doma družine otroka s posebnimi potrebami. Starši so izrazili tudi večjo potrebo po času zase in po podpori drugih staršev otrok s posebnimi potrebami ter potrebo po pogostejših srečanjih s strokovnjaki. Prav tako so izkazali potrebo po pomoči, kadar morajo otrokovo stanje pojasniti drugim otrokom. Raziskava je nakazala znano spoznanje, da si starši želijo in potrebujejo več praktičnih usmeritev za vsakdanje delo, kot tudi, da potrebujejo večjo finančno podporo za plačilo različnih terapij. Največ potreb po finančni pomoči za nakup specializirane opreme za otroka in dom so izkazale družine, ki imajo slepega ali slabovidnega otroka oz. otroka z okvaro vidne funkcije in gluhega ali naglušnega otroka. Starši otrok z avtističnimi motnjami potrebujejo največ pomoči pri delovanju v družini ter več različnih storitev v bližini doma otroka s posebnimi potrebami, kar se zaznava tudi v praksi, saj otrokom z avtizmom ni omogočena sistematična zgodnja obravnava in vključitev v predšolske oddelke vrtcev. Uporabljeno metodo je priporočljivo uporabiti v začetku zgodnje obravnave, saj nam omogoča bolj usmerjen pristop k družini.This master\u27s degree discusses meeting the basic needs of families with young children with special needs in the early childhood intervention (ECI). It is important to recognize and address the needs of families in different areas in order to provide them with appropriate and necessary assistance during the ECI period. The survey that I conducted examined the needs of families in the process of the ECI in the following areas: the need for information on the child\u27s condition, the need for support, the need for help in explaining the child’s condition to others, the need to provide different services, the need for financial support and the need of assistance for the functionality of families. The needs were examined based on the gender of the parents, the age of the child with special needs, and the definition of the special needs of the child in the special education needs guidance order. The survey was carried out on a sample of one hundred and twenty (120) families with children with special needs. The results showed that parents need more information on the services that are and will be available for their child in the future, including the services near the home of a child with special needs. Parents also expressed a greater need for time for themselves and for the support from other parents of children with special needs, and the need for more frequent meetings with experts. Parents, in addition, expressed the need for help with explaining their child\u27s condition to other children. The research has indicated a well-known realization that parents want and need more practical guidelines for everyday work, as well as greater financial support for paying various therapies. Families with blind, partially sighted or visually impaired children, as weel as those who have children with hearing impairments and deaf have shown the greatest need for financial assistance for the purchase of specialized equipment for the child and the home. Parents of children with autism disorders need the most assistance for the functionality of families and several different services in the vicinity of the home of a child with special needs, which is also evident in practice, as ECI and inclusion in preschool are not at their disposal. It is recommended that the method employed should be used at the beginning of the ECI, as it enables a more family focused approach