Life management strategies of parents of children with mental retardation in public and private special schools in Metro Manila: Implications for SPED teachers and professionals

• Main Author: Hsieh, Te-Chuan (James)
• Format: text
• Language: English
• Published: Animo Repository 2002
• Subjects: Parent and child; Parenting; Life skills; Special education teachers
• Online Access: https://animorepository.dlsu.edu.ph/etd_masteral/3017
• Institution: De La Salle University

This study seeks to determine the life management strategies of parents of children with mental retardation (CWMR). In this study, life management strategies involve several coping mechanisms that parents employ in dealing with children with special needs. These were divided into three categories, namely, attitude management strategies, roles and responsibility balancing strategies, and competence and confidence building strategies. It involved 60 parents of children with mental retardation, who were, at the time of the study, enrolled in four public schools with SPED center and two private special schools in Metro Manila. The research instrument used in this descriptive-correlational study was a survey questionnaire, which was devised by the researcher.Findings of the study reveal that there are five life management strategies frequently used by parents of CWMR. These are enrolling CWMR in a school that best serves the child's needs and conditions, accepting the parents, accepting suggestion and advice with open mind, cooperating with teachers, professionals, and community persons for the welfare of the child, and exposing the child during family social gathering. Further, data show that there is no significant difference between life management strategies and personal factors such as gender, age of parents, and age of mother when the first baby was born. There was, however, a significant difference between life management strategies employed by parents in terms of educational background, family monthly income and number of years as parents. It is recommended that parents undergo training organized by authorities to help them in managing their children with mental retardation. Parent-teacher collaboration should likewise be strengthened.