Parents perceptions of school nurses roles: The impact of communication on students with autism spectrum disorder

This qualitative study used the nursing grounding theory to describe parents' experiences working with school nurses to elevate their child’s healthcare. Seventeen interviews were conducted with parents/primary caregivers (P/PCG) who had children with autism spectrum disorder (ASD; ages six to ten). Through centering parents’ voices, the investigators were able to identify gaps in P/CG understanding of their school nurses’ roles through thematic analyses. We found that P/CG lacked the understanding of school nurses' roles and how school nurses could aid their child’s healthcare. The oversight of school nurses contributed to miscommunication, which constrained the relationship between the parent and the school nurse. These findings provide insight into the importance of enhancing communication between the parents of children with ASD and school nurses and was the catalyst to why this article was written. When healthcare professionals provide clarity and expertise to parents as to their respective roles, incorporate perspective-taking, and tailor their approaches based on their concerns, it may enhance parents’ experiences with their school nurses. In addition, school nurses should consider various routes of engaging parents so they have a deeper understanding of their responsibilities in enhancing the healthcare of children with ASD.

Understanding Parents’ Experiences with Children with Type 1 Diabetes: A Qualitative Inquiry

Parenting is often described as a stress-inducing experience, which can be further complicated or made more stressful and anxiety-inducing when parenting children with chronic conditions such as type 1 diabetes (T1D). The incidence of T1D among children has risen and continues to rise globally, resulting in a need to understand the experiences of parenting children with T1D. The purpose of this qualitative inquiry was to explore the lived experiences, and the meaning ascribed to those experiences, of being a parent of a child with T1D. This qualitative study was conducted through an interpretivist paradigm and includes the experiences of 29 parents (19 mothers and 10 fathers) of 24 children (aged 6 to 15 years) with T1D. Parents, and parent dyads, completed demographic questionnaires and written prompts, and participated in focus group interviews. Three themes were developed from the data, namely, a) the costs of T1D, b) the ultimate helicopter mom, and c) dealing with “being different”. Generally, the participants reported on the direct (e.g., financial and time) and indirect (e.g., family planning) costs associated with parenting children with T1D, their role as a primary provider and anxieties with relinquishing control and dealing with the stigma surrounding a diabetes diagnosis. Unique findings from this study included the impact a T1D diagnosis had on future family planning as parents navigated the fear and uncertainty of having additional children with T1D, as well as the internal conflict parents had with entrusting others to care for their child, especially if they deemed them to be unqualified or unnecessarily stigmatizing or ostracizing their child.

Go to Fight! parents' experiences in caring for their disabled child / Ir à Luta! vivências dos pais nos cuidados do filho com deficiência

The objective was to understand the experience of parents in caring for children with disabilities. The Grounded Theory was adopted as a methodological framework, 9 parents of children and adults with intellectual or multiple disabilities were interviewed, between August/2015 and June/2016. The categories were obtained: Pre, peri, post-natal aspects, Posture assumed by the professional, Go to Fight! and Another world. It is, therefore, a parenting that is configured as these parents enter the Another world, which leads them to adjust their practices and beliefs about their child, about themselves and the universe of disability, sometimes under a perception of disability as a social disadvantage and incapacity, having as an intervening factor the Posture assumed by the professional, thus knowing these experiences from the GT allows: the improvement of care practices for these parents and their children, the planning of actions psychoeducational from a social perspective of disability in order to empower them and guide them about aspects of their children's development, enabling a look beyond the diagnosis and a more positive family adaptation.

MELANCHOLIC SENTIMENTS TOWARDS MODULAR LEARNING MODALITY: SINGLE PARENTS IN FOCUS

Schools worldwide shuttered their doors in the spring of 2020 to slow the spread of the COVID -19 pandemic virus. This physical closure quickly moved to modular learning, which increased parental and guardian responsibilities. Data were collected from 10 single parents of Rizal Memorial Colleges, Inc. The research design of this study utilized the phenomenological method to determine the Melancholic sentiments towards modular learning modality: single parents in focus in The Rizal Memorial Colleges, Inc. This study aimed to investigate parents’ experiences and struggles by the use of thematic coding with the use of essential themes. Data obtained identified emergent themes clustered, namely; strive to balance parent employment demands and learner needs, strenuous assisting more than one child in the home with learning, lack of personal balance, and parent feels overwhelmed; maintaining a strict schedule; engaging in creative activities; keeping children busy and; organizing daily routine; tracking academic progress, keeping socio-emotional Development, accessing of achievement, and identifying emotional toll. The findings revealed and addressed the learning gap that has emerged in their children’s learning in these challenging times. Furthermore, single parents, being aware of how to manage their time, struggles, hardship, and challenges to cope with their sentiment experiences, and strive on how they can surpass and would be a strong basis for school administrators as this comes as an opportunity to evaluate the effectiveness of different educational approaches and develop teaching and learning process suited to specific educational needs. Considering the result of this study as input from families, and should be sought to create a program and learning method that is beneficial to all school stakeholders. KEYWORDS: Melancholic sentiments, Modular learning modality, and Single Parents

Between Home and School: Exploring Parents’ Experiences of Educating in a Pandemic

Drawing on open ended survey data constructed during the Spring-Summer of 2020 at the height of COVID-19 related lockdowns, this chapter explores parents’ experiences of parenting young people with specific learning difficulties during a pandemic using a theoretical model based on the work of Bourdieu, previously developed by Ross. Bourdieusien principles underpin this study of parents’ individual sense-making of home-schooling their children. This sense-making is highlighted as framing parents’ interactions with professionals working with their children. There is a particular focus on parents’ attempts to procure and engage with appropriate support for their children with specific learning difficulties. Systemic expectations relating to home-schooling and parents’ roles in this are delineated and clarified. The intersection of systemic expectations on parents and their interactions with professionals is deconstructed to highlight the difficulties parents encountered with their ever-shifting roles during the course of home-schooling their children. Recommendations for practice are then drawn out.

Parents’ Experiences of Weighted Blankets’ Impact on Children with Attention-Deficit/Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD) and Sleep Problems—A Qualitative Study

Sleep disturbances are common among children with attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder (ADHD). While pharmacological treatment has increased dramatically, parents often prefer non-pharmacological interventions. Research on experiences of weighted blankets and their effect in sleep improvement is scarce. The aim of this study was to explore parents’ experiences of weighted blankets for children with ADHD and sleep problems, and the impact on their children’s sleep. The explorative design was based on qualitative content analysis. Interviews were conducted with a purposeful sample of 24 parents of children with ADHD and sleep problems, after completing a sleep intervention with weighted blankets for 16 weeks. Parents reported that children sleeping with weighted blankets: (1) achieved satisfactory sleep, including improved sleep onset latency, sleep continuity, and sleep routines; (2) achieved overall well-being, including improved relaxation and reduced anxiety; and (3) mastered everyday life, including improved balance in life, family function, and participation in school and leisure activities. This study brings forward novel aspects of the effects of improved sleep among children with ADHD. The findings contribute to the understanding of potential positive effects of an intervention with weighted blankets critical for clinical practice to improve sleep, well-being, and everyday life of children with ADHD and their families.

Parents' Experiences Caring for a Child after a Critical Illness: A Qualitative Study

Objectives This article described parents' experience and identifies outcomes important to parents following their child's critical illness. Methods Semistructured interviews with 22 female and 4 male parents representing 26 critically ill children with predominately neurologic and respiratory diagnoses. Most children were younger than 5 years at discharge with a median (interquartile range) of 2 (2.0–3.0) years from discharge to interview. Results Many children returned home with life-altering physical and cognitive disabilities requiring months to years of rehabilitation. Parents remembered feeling unprepared and facing an intense, chaotic time when the child first returned home. They described how they suddenly had to center their daily activities around the child's needs amidst competing needs of siblings and partners, and in some cases, the medicalization of the home. They recounted negotiating adjustments almost daily with insurance agencies, medical doctors and therapists, employers, the child, and other family members to keep the family functioning. In the long term, families developed a new norm, choosing to focus on what the child could still do rather than what they could not. Even if the child returned to baseline, parents remembered the adjustments made to keep the child alive and the family functioning. Conclusion Heightened awareness of family experiences after pediatric critical illness will allow health care providers to improve family preparedness for the transition from hospital to home.