The increased life expectancy of adult individuals with developmental disabilities and the likelihood of parents having to continue caregiving into their old age is an emerging international issue ...which deserves investigation, especially concerning satisfaction with caregiving. Moreover, this needs to be assessed in different cultures in order to create a better understanding of how families are best supported in their lifelong caregiving. A sample of 408 parents was gathered in six cities across Iran with a son or daughter who had a confirmed developmental disability. Self-completed measures of satisfaction and stress were obtained along with demographic details of the child and family. Satisfaction with caring was generally positive and was similar for mothers and fathers, for older as well as for younger parents; and between different types of developmental disabilities. However, both personal and child satisfaction decreased when parents reported increased stress and when caring for teenage and adult offspring and those with behavior problems. Parents need to receive support to sustain their motivation and satisfaction with caregiving if their quality of life and that of their children with disabilities is to be maintained and enhanced across their lifespan.
Parents of children with developmental disabilities face many challenges. Those who are less satisfied with the care-giving that their children receive may require extra support. This paper reports ...the development of a Parental Satisfaction with Caring for a child with Developmental Disability Index (PSCDDI), with items derived from literature reviews and pilot testing in Iran. The index was field tested with 256 parents caring for children with a diagnosis of intellectual disability, autism, or attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD), and who were attending centres in four locations across Iran. A factor analysis of responses to the self-completion questionnaire identified two main factors, i.e., personal satisfaction and satisfaction with the child, with six items for each factor. The two factors had good internal consistency and reasonable test-retest reliability. Binary logistic regressions identified significant predictors of personal satisfaction that supported the validity of the scale.: Clinicians and service providers could use this scale as part of their assessment strategy to identify parents who may require additional support, especially those with teenage female children, and those with a diagnosis of autism or behavior problems.
Early identification and intervention is recommended for developmental disabilities such as autism spectrum disorders (ASD). Various screening tools are available, but most were developed in affluent ...English speaking countries.
In order to identify possible early signs of ASD within Iranian society, parents of 623 children in an age range from 3 to 7 years of age at risk of ASD, were interviewed about the signs that alerted their concerns. Also two screening instruments were developed and tested with the parents using items derived from the Gilliam Autism Rating Scale (GARS2). One focused on autistic behaviors and the second on developmental indicators.
Using both tools, 93% of the children who were identified as likely to have ASD based on a full GARS assessment were identified using the two screening tools.
These assessments might be used in initial screening for ASD by early year's personnel or public health professionals with Iranian parents of toddlers who have concerns about their child's development.
•The main aim of the study was to reduce the time gap between ASD signs emerging and identifying of ASD•To develop screening tools to use with Iranian parents•Helping in identifying children who likely to have ASD from two years of age onwards•Using the developed scales assist primary care personnel to refer children for a fuller assessment by professionals•Primary care staff can focus attention on providing advice relating to parents of positive screened children
Background: Parenting of children with Developmental Disabilities is considered to be a challenging task. This group of parents are at risk for lower levels of being satisfied with caregiving to ...their child compared to parents of typically developing children.
Methods: Participants were recruited from different services in four provinces across Iran to shape a larger research sample. The Parental Satisfaction with Caring for a child with Developmental Disability Index (PSCDDI) was utilized.
Results: Parents of children with DDs particularly parents of children with ASD demonstrated decreased parental satisfaction with caregiving compared with parents of typically developing children. Child behaviour problems, gender and age emerged as a significant predictor of the level of parental satisfaction with caregiving.
Conclusions: These findings suggest that understanding parental satisfaction with caring is an important factor in understanding the challenges associated with caring for a child with DD.
PDF
