The master's thesis deals with the area of parents awareness about support services and rights of children with special needs. I wanted to examine the situation in Slovenia and possible differences between parents according to the type of special needs of their children. In this I based my work on the theoretical background presented in the first part of the master's thesis. The reactions of parents when faced with their child's difference are discussed by various authors. The interpretations overlap and complement each other. The way in which the news of the child's special needs is communicated to the parents also plays an important role. I have presented the needs of parents of children with special needs, paying particular attention to the need for information, which is one of the most expressed needs of parents in the literature. As the child's development takes place in interaction with the environment, the child should be considered within the context and the treatment should be family-centred. Cooperation between professionals and parents is important. The partnership model has become the norm as it ensures the greatest progress. The essential elements of a partnership are: cooperation, respect, trust, common goals, complementarity in knowledge, agreement, communication, honesty and flexibility. I presented early treatment as regulated by the Act Regulating the Integrated Early Treatment of Preschool Children with Special Needs, which brought the legal regulation of the early treatment process into the Slovenian space. This is followed by various other forms of assistance and support for families of children with special needs, which can be divided into informal (relatives, friends, etc.) and formal (organisations, health institutions, professionals, etc.) forms of support. An important part of the master's thesis is the presentation of rights for families of children with special needs, which I divide into three sets: rights in the field of social protection, rights deriving from basic health insurance and rights in the field of education.
In the empirical part, I present the results of the survey carried out by means of a questionnaire that was sent to parents in an online format. It was completed by 117 parents of children with special needs up to the age of 6. The results show that there are no significant differences between parents of children belonging to different groups of children with special needs. All of them feel a lack of information about rights and sources of help. There is a lack of communication with professionals, as parents rarely receive information about support services from them. The internet is therefore the most important source of information for parents. All respondents also searched online for information on rights and support services. Parents also report a lack of psychological and emotional support for them and a disconnection between the work of professionals. When assessing the quality of the relationship, parents find it difficult to address the question of whether professionals treat them as equal partners, suggesting that there is still room for improvement in the professional-parent relationship. In the final part of the questionnaire, parents gave their suggestions for improving the information system. On the basis of the information received, I have drawn up guidelines for professionals who work with parents of children with special needs, with a view to improving their cooperation with parents and raising parents' informational empowerment.
|
