This study aimed to compare the quality of life and depression levels in Turkish mothers of children with Down syndrome, cerebral palsy, and Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD). An additional purpose is to identify whether the depression and quality of life levels of the mothers differ significantly based on demographic variables. Two hundred fifty-two mothers participated in the study. The World Health Organization's Quality of Life-BREF (WHOQOL-BREF-TR) assessment instrument was used to determine the mothers' quality of life and the Beck Depression Inventory (BDI) to characterize their depression. Mothers of children with cerebral palsy had significantly lower quality of life scores on the environment and national environment domains of the WHOQOL-BREF-TR than those of children with Down syndrome. No significant difference was observed in the depression of mothers. With increasing education and income, quality of life of the mothers increased whereas depression decreased. Moreover, depression increased and quality of life decreased in older mothers. Furthermore, the findings indicated significant negative correlations between mothers' depression and quality of life scores on all domains of the WHOQOL-BREF-TR.
Mothers of children diagnosed with Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD) face various burdensome challenges in many stages of their lives. This study aimed to explore the experiences of Turkish mothers whose children were diagnosed with ASD in terms of the emotions they felt and the challenges they encountered before and after the diagnosis. 17 mothers participated in this study which was designed in line with qualitative research methods and participant information form based on demographic characteristics was utilized to collect data along with the interview form composed of 11 questions. Findings from face-to-face interviews conducted with mothers showed that mothers thought their children had some problems as a result of their observations of limitations in communication skills, limitations in social interactions and some problem behaviors in their children. Children were diagnosed with ASD by doctors during the preschool period. Mothers expressed that they had experienced grief, denial, anxiety and fear after the diagnosis and stated that these feelings had not changed. In addition, mothers mentioned that they had changes in their family lives and that they maintained a child-centered life. Mothers pointed out that they generally spent their time doing research and gathering information on the subject. Research findings reveal the necessity of taking these mothers’ experiences into account in early special education services and the need for planning these services to meet these mothers’ needs.
ABSTRACT. The aim of this study is to help a child with autism in an inclusive preschool programme to introduce herself, to ask for help or information and to acquire skills to participate in daily activities through social stories. In this study, one of the single subject methods called multiple probe model with probe condition across behaviors is used. In order to teach social skills such as introducing herself, asking for help or information and participate in daily activities, social stories are written and these stories are visualized through pictures. The intended social skills are taught through social stories to the partcipant autistic child, then it is evaluated through observations whether these social skills are performed or not in the inclusive preschool programme. After criterion is met for teaching of intended social skills, withdrawal sessions of stories are done. Then, the data are collected through follow up observations two weeks later. At the end of the study, the effectiveness of social skill instruction through social stories and the follow up data show permanency of the taught skills. Keywords 166 SUMMARYPurpose and significance: Social stories have been developed for the purpose of helping autistic children to gain social skills and act as a therapy for their problematic behaviour. The purpose of this study is to investigate whether the social skills training program prepared along with the stories is effective or not for the autistic child to identify herself, request help or information and both gain and sustain participation skills to enable them participate in the ongoing activity.
Ağır ve çoklu yetersizliği (AÇYE) olan bireyler, bağımsız yaşam becerilerindeki sınırlılıklar nedeniyle aile üyelerinden yardım ve destek almaya gereksinim duymaktadırlar. Söz konusu gereksinimlerinin karşılanmasında da en büyük sorumluluk ebeveynlerine düşmektedir. Busüreçte zamanlarının büyük bir kısmını çocuklarıyla birlikte geçiren ebeveynlerin, özellikle birincil bakıcı durumunda olan annelerin, yaşamış oldukları sorunları belirlemek, AÇYE olan bireylere yönelik verilecek hizmetlerin düzenlenmesine katkı sağlayacaktır. Bu çalışmada, AÇYE olan çocuk annelerinin yaşamış oldukları sorunların ve bu sorunlarla baş etme yöntemlerinin belirlenmesi amaçlanmıştır. Araştırma nitel araştırma yöntemi esas alınarak olgu bilim modelinde desenlenmiştir. Araştırmanın verileri yarı-yapılandırılmış görüşme tekniği ile toplanmıştır. AÇYE olan çocuğa sahip beş anneyle yapılan görüşmelerle elde edilen veriler, betimsel analiz yoluyla analiz edilmiştir. Araştırma sonuçlarına göre annelerin tanılama sonrasında eğitim, sağlık, ulaşım, çevre ve aile ilişkileri, maddi zorluklar ve gelecek kaygısı konularında sorunlar yaşadıkları görülmüştür. Bu sorunlarla baş etmede kendilerini yalnız ve güçsüz hisseden annelerin sorunlarla baş etme yöntemlerinin oldukça sınırlı olduğu belirlenmiştir.
Research areas: early childhood special education, family education, family counseling in special education, social acceptance, socio-emotional, and behavioral functioning of children with special needs. Email: skucuker@pau.edu.tr b Assoc. Prof. Ilknur Cifci Tekinarslan (PhD), Department of Special Education, Faculty of Education, Abant Izzet Baysal University, Golkoy, Bolu 14280 Turkey Email: ilknur_cifci@hotmail.com Abstract This study examines whether the self-concepts, social skills, problem behaviors, and loneliness levels of students with special educational needs (SEN) in inclusive elementary classrooms differ from those of students without special educational needs (non-SEN). This study also aimed to identify the roles of self-concept, social skills, and problem behaviors in predicting the loneliness levels of SEN students. The study group comprised 272 students (4 th and 5 th graders) attending inclusive elementary classrooms. A total of 140 were SEN and 132 were non-SEN students. The Social Skills and the Problem Behaviors Scales of the Social Skills Rating System-Teacher Form (SSRS-TF), the Children's Loneliness Scale (CLS), and the Piers-Harris Children's Self-Concept Scale (PHCSCS) were used as data collection tools. The findings showed that the self-concepts, social skills, problem behaviors, and loneliness levels of the SEN students were significantly different than those of the non-SEN students. It was also found that self-concept and social skills were significant predictors of the loneliness levels of SEN students. The findings were discussed regarding the related literature and the inclusive practices in Turkey.
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