ERIC Number: ED592132
Record Type: Non-Journal
Publication Date: 2018
Pages: 322
Abstractor: As Provided
ISBN: 978-0-4386-5783-0
ISSN: EISSN-
EISSN: N/A
Families Caring for a Child with Dual Sensory Loss: A Phenomenological Study
Pennell, Robin L.
ProQuest LLC, Psy.D. Dissertation, Capella University
Families who care for a child with congenital dual sensory loss (DSL) have unique challenges. Children with congenital DSL often present at birth with life threatening medical issues and limited access to the sights and sounds of their environment. Parents raising a child with DSL must learn how to communicate with their child, take care of his or her medical issues, and find local supports to help the family to cope and the child to develop. This low incidence condition has a paucity of research regarding the experiences of families caring for a child with congenital DSL. The research question for this dissertation was: What are the lived experiences of families caring for a child with congenital dual sensory loss? The research methodology used for this study was transcendental phenomenology which examines the shared meaning of the lived experiences of participants as understood by his or her consciousness. Eight participants were randomly selected from the pool of parents of children with DSL connected to a Facebook parent support group. All of the participants are mothers of children with congenital DSL aged birth to 21 years, and are residents of the state of Ohio. Seven participants were Caucasian and one was African American. Each participant was interviewed at a local library in their hometown. Interviews were transcribed using Transcribe open source software, and analyzed using epoche, transcendental phenomenological reduction, imaginative variation, and synthesis of meanings and essences. The essence of the experiences of the participants in this study is that parents of children with DSL endure stress from their children's birth, their children's medical concerns, finances to cover medical treatments, finding supports for education and development, and finding a way to communicate with their children. Participants were frustrated by the lack of knowledge educators exhibit pertaining to DSL and the feeling of isolation from extended family, friends, and the public. However, participants believed that their child has taught their family the meaning of life. [The dissertation citations contained here are published with the permission of ProQuest LLC. Further reproduction is prohibited without permission. Copies of dissertations may be obtained by Telephone (800) 1-800-521-0600. Web page: http://bibliotheek.ehb.be:2222/en-US/products/dissertations/individuals.shtml.]
Descriptors: Children, Congenital Impairments, Perceptual Impairments, Communication Skills, Childhood Needs, Coping, Mothers, Stress Variables, Health Needs, Costs, Medical Services, Knowledge Level, Teacher Competencies
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Publication Type: Dissertations/Theses - Doctoral Dissertations
Education Level: N/A
Audience: N/A
Language: English
Sponsor: N/A
Authoring Institution: N/A
Identifiers - Location: Ohio
Grant or Contract Numbers: N/A