This Article Full Text (PDF) References Alert me when this article is cited Alert me if a correction is posted Services Email this article to a friend Similar articles in this journal Similar articles in PubMed Alert me to new issues of the journal Add to Saved Citations Download to citation manager Request Permissions Request Reprints Add to My Marked Citations Citing Articles Citing Articles via HighWire Citing Articles via Google Scholar Citing Articles via Scopus Google Scholar Articles by Hendriks, A. H. Articles by Franken, W. M Search for Related Content PubMed PubMed Citation Articles by Hendriks, A. H. Articles by Franken, W. M Social Bookmarking                         What's this?

Service needs of parents with motor or multiply disabled children in Dutch therapeutic toddler classes

Jan MH De Moor

Johan HL Oud

Waltera M Franken

University of Nijmegen, The Netherlands

Objective: To determine parents' service needs at the start of therapeutic toddler class treatment, to analyse determinants and to investigate received help after a period of 10 months.

Subjects: Parents with motor or multiply disabled children in therapeutic toddler classes.

Setting: Sixteen out of 17 Dutch rehabilitation centres.

Design: A sample of 84 parents, stratified according to toddler class size.

Main outcome measures: A questionnaire of 33 items, divided into five categories, was designed to assess parents' needs and to evaluate the amount of received help. Several measures were used to assess child, parent and family characteristics.

Results: Based on factor analysis, five need subscales were distinguished which only partially corresponded to the initial categories. The initial category concerning needs for help in family functioning did not come out as a factor. Needs expressed most frequently belonged to the three subscales of needs for information concerning the child. The average level of needs generally did not differ for mothers and fathers across the subscales. However, we found large variation in needs for both mothers and fathers on each subscale. The most important, positively correlated determinant of parents' needs was social isolation of the family. After 10 months a considerable level of unmet needs was found.

Conclusions: A systematic and periodic assessment of individual needs of parents as well as the services offered is recommended. Professionals of the therapeutic toddler classes should especially focus on providing parents with information on their child's disability and therapy, community services and parenting.

Clinical Rehabilitation, Vol. 14, No. 5, 506-517 (2000)
DOI: 10.1191/0269215500cr353oa


CiteULike    Complore    Connotea    Del.icio.us    Digg    Reddit    Technorati    Twitter    What's this?

This article has been cited by other articles:

				D. Pelchat, H. Lefebvre, and M.-J. Levert Gender differences and simililarities in the experience of parenting a child with a health problem: current state of knowledge J Child Health Care, June 1, 2007; 11(2): 112 - 131. [Abstract] [PDF]

				G. J. Verkerk, M. J. M. Wolf, A. M Louwers, A. Meester-Delver, and F. Nollet The reproducibility and validity of the Canadian Occupational Performance Measure in parents of children with disabilities Clinical Rehabilitation, November 1, 2006; 20(11): 980 - 988. [Abstract] [PDF]

				S.-F. Tam and A. W. Y. Cheng Self-concepts of parents with a child of school age with a severe intellectual disability J Intellect Disabil., September 1, 2005; 9(3): 253 - 268. [Abstract] [PDF]