The experiences of mothers caring for their school-going children with physical or mental disabilities in low-income communities : an ecological perspective

[摘要] ENGLISH ABSTRACT:The aim of this study was to develop an understanding of the experiences of mothers caring for their school-going children with mental or physical disabilities in low-income communities using the ecological perspective. The rationale for this research was a gap in the existing literature re-garding the experiences of mothers caring for their school-going children with mental or physical disabilities in low-income communities in South Africa, which was identified in the preliminary and main literature review. The literature review further indicated that these mothers have to struggle with several challenges, particularly in low-income communities. In order to achieve the aim of this study, four research objectives were formulated for this study. To reach the objectives of the study the researcher employed both qualitative and quantitative research methods to col-lect the data for the research. The research methodology comprised two main parts: firstly, a lit-erature study of all relevant literature on the subject matter, in order to gain the necessary in-depth understanding of the field; and secondly, qualitative and quantitative data-collection, using a semi-structured questionnaire. The first part of this study, the extensive literature review, helped firstly to provide the necessary background information on the mental and physical disabilities of school-going children, sec-ondly, it helped to establish a number of challenges that mothers caring for their disabled chil-dren face and the needs that result from them, from an ecological perspective. These were cate-gorized into four groups of needs: (1) access needs; (2) economic needs; (3) social and cultural needs; and (4) mental/psychological needs. Consequently, ways of meeting these needs were discussed, from formal support, such as government grants, to informal support, for example, the support of family and friends. Assessing the South African environment it was found that while the country has provided a very positive policy environment, through its constitution, policies and grant system, the practical implementation of this is, in many instances, inadequate.Using the findings of the first part of this thesis to create a questionnaire, its second part, the em-pirical study, presented and analysed the answers of nineteen mothers caring for their disabled children who attend the special school selected for the research study in Cloetesville, Stellenbosch; a low-income community. The questionnaire explored, among other aspects, the physical, social, emotional, psychological and economic needs of the mothers; the role of the school, fami-ly, friends, non-governmental organisations and other coping options in meeting them, as well as the mothers´ awareness of available resources. The findings in the South African low-income community corresponded to a large extent with what was indicated in the literature study. The mothers were found to live under precarious economic and employment situations, having to rely on child support and disability dependence grants. Furthermore, the mothers reported that they experienced stress, emotional and physical, as a result of having to care for disabled children. It was shown that while receiving grants and sending their children to the special school did alle-viate some of the challenges, this aid was not perceived as sufficient. On the other hand, the study confirmed and emphasized the importance of understanding and support by family and friends in helping mothers meet their needs. Moreover, it was found that most of the mothers interviewed for this thesis had a positive perception of their role as caregiver for their disabled child: for example, seeing themselves as good mothers, being proud to be self-sufficient, as well as a positive influence on the mothers‟ relationship with their family. As a consequence of the results this study, several recommendations were made for government (social development) and service providers (social workers, teachers, doctors): firstly, govern-ment should aim to achieve a better congruence between the positive policy environment in South Africa and the implementation of these policies; secondly, among other recommendations for service providers, awareness needs to be raised in communities to decrease the stigma of dis-ability and increase understanding and support. Finally, while this study was a success, it was only a first step in filling the gap in the literature on the experiences of mothers caring for their mentally and physically disabled children in South African low-income communities, and therefore needs to be complemented and tested by further research on the subject.

[发布机构] Stellenbosch University