Parent Opinions Regarding The Services Received In Special Education And Rehabilitation Centers For Individuals With Multiple Disabilities

Abstract

Individuals with multiple disabilities (MD) could receive services from different institutions throughout their lives. One of these institutions is Special Education and Rehabilitation Centers. Special Education and Rehabilitation Centers provide various services to individuals with MD. The quality of these services affects the quality of life of both the children with MD and their parents. Therefore, this study aims to determine the views of parents on the services received by the individuals with MD from Special Education and Rehabilitation Centers. Eleven female and two male parents participated in this study. The study was designed with the phenomenology pattern, one of the qualitative research methods, and data were collected with the semi-structured interview technique. The interviews lasted between 12 and 18 minutes. The data obtained from the interviews was analyzed with the descriptive analysis technique. The findings showed that parents receive various support services from Special Education and Rehabilitation Centers for both themselves and the individuals with MD, they were very content with the education and physiotherapy services provided by the institutions, and these services were very effective and beneficial for their children and themselves. In addition, it was concluded that the duration of the education services provided was too short and insufficient for their children that the state should support such institutions and that they wanted their children to be hired in a job within their competence.