Challenges faced by parents of children with learning disabilities in Opuwo, Namibia

Abstract

BackgroundParenting children with learning disabilities requires a high level of knowledge and access to resources, information and services. In developing countries, however, these resources and services are not always available. Parents in Namibia, a developing country, therefore face challenges addressing children’s learning and other developmental disabilities, including challenges related to preventative and supportive interventions.ObjectiveThis research focuses on challenges faced by parents as they parent children with learning disabilities in Opuwo, Namibia.MethodIn-depth interviews were conducted with eight parents regarding the challenges they face in parenting their children with learning disabilities. Thematic analysis enabled the researchers to identify, analyse and report on themes that emerged from the qualitative interview data.ResultsAnalysis of the interviews indicated that some participants had only a vague understanding of learning disabilities, as they did not have access to essential knowledge about this phenomenon. They also lacked an awareness of the availability of programmes, services and policies meant to benefit their children with learning disabilities. Participants voiced that they, their children with learning disabilities and community members have stereotypes and prejudices regarding learning disabilities. In this study, most of the children with learning disabilities were raised by single, unemployed parents who seemed to have access to less support from external sources than married couples parenting children with learning disabilities. These single parents are usually not married and because of lack of financial support from the other parent, the majority of them indicated that they struggle to meet the financial and material needs of their children.ConclusionThe researchers concluded that the participants in this study experience a range of challenges in parenting their children with learning disabilities. The main challenges emanate from financial instability, as well as lack of knowledge regarding services and programmes for children with learning disabilities. This lack of knowledge on the part of participants could indicate poor policy education by policy implementers at grass-roots level.

Exploring access to government-led support for children with disabilities in Bangladesh

“…This finding is consistent with previous studies where authors found a positive relationship between awareness and the use of services indicating high awareness is associated with high use of services [49,50]. Recent evidence also shows that families of CWDs who had limited knowledge encountered more challenges in accessing services [13]. Thus, the finding underscores the need for ongoing awareness programs among families of CWDs as indicated earlier.…”

“…Similar to previous studies that were conducted in rural Australia [43] and other LMICs contexts [13,44], families of CWDs in our study reported limited knowledge about government…”

“…There is increasing evidence that depending on the context, families of CWDs may encounter a wide range of barriers to accessing healthcare services. Although such contexts shape access barriers to healthcare services, commonalities exist which include shortage of providers and services, distance to care facilities, long wait times, limited transportation services, high costs of services, negative attitudes of providers, inaccessible built environments and limited knowledge about existing support [ 11 – 13 ]. For instance, Taderera and Hall (2017) [ 13 ] found that family members’ limited knowledge about disability-specific services (e.g., medical care, educational support, and daily living support) impeded their access to such services for their CWDs in Namibia.…”

“…Although such contexts shape access barriers to healthcare services, commonalities exist which include shortage of providers and services, distance to care facilities, long wait times, limited transportation services, high costs of services, negative attitudes of providers, inaccessible built environments and limited knowledge about existing support [ 11 – 13 ]. For instance, Taderera and Hall (2017) [ 13 ] found that family members’ limited knowledge about disability-specific services (e.g., medical care, educational support, and daily living support) impeded their access to such services for their CWDs in Namibia. Evidence also suggests that family members’ and child’s sociodemographic characteristics such as family income, age, type of disability and location of their residence were associated with their access to healthcare services [ 9 , 14 ].…”

Quality of life of mothers who have children with developmental disabilities

“…Families of children with intellectual and developmental disabilities endure a high degree of psychological and social difficulties (22). The results of other researches show that family adjustment varies according to the type and degree of disability.…”