Abstract
This study explored the experiences and perceptions of parents of the psychoeducational support provided at a full-service high school for their children with specific learning disorders (SLDs). The purpose of the investigation was to indicate better means to empower the parents through knowledge to become proactive participants in assistance to their children as provided by educators and health professionals. A descriptive qualitative approach embedded in an interpretative and phenomenological framework was used. Data were collected by means of individual semi-structured interviews with six parents and analysed through thematic data analysis. Three themes were identified: parents’ experiences of SLDs, supporting children with SLDs, and the school’s challenging role in facilitating intervention/support. Subthemes addressed parents’ dynamic understanding of SLDs, their parenting a child with an SLD and its resulting burden on their living contexts, their difficulties in supporting their child with an SLD, their actively facilitating intervention/support, their perceptions of their child's experience, and their concerns about narrow thinking in the broader school system and conflicting experiences of support provided to their children via an educational support programme. Findings indicated the need for improved support to parents of children with SLDs not only in a domestic but also in a school and community setting.
M.Ed. (Educational Psychology)