Abstract:

The purpose of this study is to identify the needs of parents with children that have multiple disabilities in early childhood and to suggest a family-centered training model for parents in line with these needs. The research was designed with qualitative research method. Three mothers, who have children with multiple disabilities, living in Mamak district of Ankara province, participated in the research. The data were collected in a group meeting through face-to-face interviews and analyzed by content analysis. The common needs of the mothers who participated in the group meetings were getting information about the disabilities of the children, learning how to increase the physiotherapy hours for them, getting the entire diaper costs of the children from the Social Security Institution and getting help about their transportation to the hospital. As for the personal needs, the mothers desired to get information about the parent–teacher association, epilepsy, visual impairment, hip dislocation and its treatment, shunt use and space therapy and they also wanted to learn whether robots would be useful for their children or not. In line with these results, it can be said that a screening study based on quantitative data should be carried out for further studies through wider participation with children that have different disabilities.

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