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Parents Basis of Interventions to Their Child with Special Needs

Tiongan, Jenefer C. and Manis , Angelo

Keywords: Awareness, Interventions, Decision-making, Special needs

Abstract
Children with disabilities pose great challenges to parents as well as teachers and other
professionals who look after their welfare. Parents are expected to provide the necessary
interventions so that children with disabilities are empowered to live normally with their families.
The study explored the parents’ basis of giving interventions to their child with special needs. It
also looked into the factors affecting the parents’ in decision making in providing the necessary
intervention for the child with special needs. Likewise, it also looked into the effect of parents’
income in the interventions they provide to the child with special needs. A phenomenological
design was adopted. Participants were parents (4-mother and 1-father). Data were collected using
an unstructured interview. The findings revealed that the parents’ basis in giving interventions to
their child with special needs are the health care professionals, school administration, other
parents, and their own instincts. On the other hand, the factors that affect the parents’ decision
making are the health care professionals, government agencies, and the parents’ educational
background including their values and beliefs. The findings suggest the need for a greater number
of parents and development of research itself. To address these challenges, there must be a clear
connection of government programs, school administration and interventions facilities towards
the parent of children with special needs.

I. INTRODUCTION

The researcher’s perspective is to achieve the mirror image of our society, but parents

who have children with disability aim to break the mirror image and let their children

create their own reflections. Parental involvement and parental consciousness greatly
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affect a child’s performance. Parents are in charge of providing interventions or deciding

what interventions must be given to their children with disability. Their lack of

knowledge and understanding  of  the importance  of high quality child  development 

experiences for their children will most likely affect the kind of intervention they are

going to provide to their children such as enrolling them in appropriate programs; thus,

making “parents consciousness”, a value‐based barrier that enable parents or not to

determine or access interventions for their children with disability

(Human Early Learning Partnership, 2011).

Parental involvement means the participation of parents in regular, two-way,

meaningful communication involving student academic learning and other school

activities (Non Regulatory Parental Involvement Guidance, 2004). Parental involvement

is defined as an umbrella term for activities characterized by varying levels of

frequency, response effort, and types of setting in which they occur (Sawyer, 2015). It is

a key element of head start and entails that if parents become involved with their

children’s schoolwork while the children are young, they are more likely to remain

academically motivated in their later school years which creates a great possibility for

success. However, the involvement of parents varies according to the following factors:

historical, economic, educational, ethnic, class, and gender (Hornby &Lafaele, 2011). It

is the interaction between a parent and a student where parents provide to their children

the necessary assistance to enhance their success in the classroom. The specific

interpretation of parental involvement, though, varies a bit from one researcher to

another (Hill et. al, 2004). Parental involvement is categorized into two broad strands:
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parents’ involvement in the life of the school and parents’ involvement in support of the

individual child at home (The Impact of Parental Involvement in Children’s Education,

2008). According to Section 9101, (Elementary and Secondary Education Act, 1965),the

term “parent” includes legal guardian or other person standing in loco parentis (such as

grandparent or stepparent with whom the child lives, or a person who is legally

responsible for the child’s welfare). A greater parental involvement is needed for parents

of children with special needs since it requires strength and flexibility. The Individuals

with Disabilities Education Act, last amended in 2004 (IDEA, 2004), encourages parents

and educators to work collaboratively, emphasizing that as a team they are uniquely

suited to make decisions that help improve the educational experiences and outcomes of

children with disabilities (Boeltzig et al., 2009). Children with special needs is defined

as those children ages 3-21 years old with disabilities under Individuals with

Disabilities Education Improvement Act (IDEA, 2004) that are eligible to receive

special education and related services (Disabilities Education Improvement Act – IDEA,

2004).

The Philippine setting had significantly presented the involvement of parents in

their child’s academic performance. It is evident that Filipino values education depicts

how a child-parent relationship is affected by Filipino culture such as “kapwa”, which

refers to the sense of shared identity, hence, Filipinos are able to relate to one another

through communication starting with family members. Another Filipino practice is

“bayanihan” emphasizing that individuals should contribute to the group, by means of

“pagkukusa” and not only for themselves. In most if not all cultures, parenting is seen
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as an integral social role with great influence on the lives of children and of parents

themselves (Alampay, 2014; Bornstein, 2001). Filipinos have this strong sense of filial

obligation and responsibility common throughout the Philippines. Children, even at

relatively young ages, are expected to contribute as best as they can to the family (Go,

1994). Parental involvement to be effective must be accompanied with resources

available. Also, Henders and Berla (1994) said that the benefits of effective

collaborations and how to do them are well documented. A research entitled, “Parental

Involvement and Children's Educational Performance: A Comparison of Filipino and

U.S. Parents” was conducted and indicated that Filipino parents are highly involved in

their children's lives. The research results showed that Filipino parents are more

involved than American parents, but the culture of the Filipino might be a barrier to the

effectiveness of parental involvement. Blair (2004) added that, since, parents lack

resources and have other economical agendas they are not able to focus on individual

children. These hypotheses are evident in the research of Pascual in 1988 entitled, “A

Case Study on Special Education in the Philippines,” says that there is inadequate

resources of the Philippines in developing an enhanced special education program. The

lack of resources would greatly affect how the parent or anyone involved either a person

or an institution to contribute to that so called “dream” of the child. Since giving

interventions is an essential feature of a child’s “educational system”, parental

involvement is one of the highlights of a child’s achievement in terms of academic

performance (Blair, 2014). The lack of financial assistance and knowledge about what

interventions must be given to the child hinders parents to achieve certain goals as well
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as the children themselves. The family is the basic unit of society and it is also where

support is coming from, particularly from the parents and other family members.

Families, schools, and government programs have worked together to implement a

better result of the following interventions and a concrete decision making for parents.

There are several interventions given but hard to navigate because parents lack of

financial resources and have limited knowledge on appropriate interventions in

addressing the child’s needs . Child care researches are typically short and parents may

not know that information is available or where to find. Strategies to get information to

parents are in place, a parent needing to make a decision rapidly may not be able to

access it. Decision making for child care is multi-faceted and complex that leads to more

than one concept that needs further processing.

There were several articles that have information about the gaps that the researchers

have figured out but results were of international set-up and might be different when

applied to Philippine culture. Different areas of research on parenting may also still be

further explored; the researchers must also take into account how these parenting styles

affect the children (Ochoa & Torre, 2004-2014). Hence, the researchers came up with

this study to focus on parent’s basis of interventions and factors affecting their decision

making for their child with disability. It aims to know the basis of intervention of parents

to their child’s needs; to know the factors that influence parents’ decision making in

providing for the child’s needs; and to know the effects of parents income in their

intervention to the child’s needs.

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The importance of the present study is to have a deeper understanding on the basis of

parents in addressing the needs of their child with special needs and the factors that

affect the parent’s decision making for their child’s welfare This will also give the

parents additional ideas of interventions and services for their child with special needs.

II. DESIGN AND METHODOLOGY

A. Selection and Study Site

A qualitative research was employed in the study because in a qualitative approach the
researcher does not attempt to manipulate the phenomenon of interest’ (Patton, 2002),
and employs a naturalistic, interpretive paradigm in a real-world setting. The convenience
method is one of the most commonly used sampling procedures. Convenience sampling
(also known as Haphazard Sampling or Accidental Sampling) is a type of nonprobability
or nonrandom sampling where members of the target population that meet certain
practical criteria, such as easy accessibility, geographical proximity, availability at a
given time, or the willingness to participate are included for the purpose of the study
(Dornyei, 2007). It is also referred to the researching subjects of the population that are
easily accessible to the researcher (S. K., & Given Lisa M, 2008). Convenience samples
are sometimes regarded as ‘accidental samples’ because elements may be selected in the
sample simply as they just happen to be situated, spatially or administratively, near to
where the researcher is conducting the data collection (Ross, K.N., 2005). The
researchers agreed that the parents of children with special needs will be their
respondents. The researchers were able to find their respondents in Baguio City. The
researchers have chosen the parents of children with special needs as their respondents
because they are the most suitable and reliable respondents for the study and also they
have more experience and observations in terms of their children’s behavior. The parents
are also aware of their responsibilities as primary caregivers of their children.
B. Data Measure
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The researchers used the unstructured interview questionnaire as the data

gathering instrument. The unstructured interview technique was developed in the
disciplines of anthropology and sociology as a method to elicit people’s social
realities. (Fontana & Frey, 2005). Minichiello et al., 1990 stated that the
unstructured interview technique is an interview in which neither the questions
nor the answer categories are predetermined.In this type of interview
questionnaire, respondents answer in detail, qualify and clarifytheir responses as
there is no limit in giving answers so that answers can further explained.
Respondents are permitted an unlimited number of possible answers. Creativity,
self-expression, and richness of detail are captured from th respondents in this
technique. For this study, one set of questionnaire was given to the parents.
C. Data Collection Procedure
In gathering the data needed for this study the researchers employed the following
procedure:
First, the researchers prepared one set of unstructured interview questionnaire for
their respondents. Second, the researchers located their respondents for the study.
Third, the researchers oriented the parents as to the purpose and nature of the
study and how the interview is conducted. Fourth, the researchers conducted the
interview and through the use of an audio recorder they were able to record all the
necessary information provided by the respondents. This ensured the accuracy
and reliability of data.
D. Ethical Consideration
The following principles from Bryman and Bell (2007) were utilized by the
researchers in the conduct of the study:
First, the researchers prepared a letter request addressed to parents for the conduct
of the interview.
Second, when the respondents consent to the interview, the researchers and the
parents set the interview schedule.
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Third, the researchers being mindful of their reactions, respected the respondents
ideas with no contradictions. The researchers assured the respondents that all their
responses will be kept with utmost confidentiality.
E. Data Explicitation/ Mode of Analysis
First, the researcher conducted an interview with their target respondents in order
to gather the data needed for the study.The proceedings of the interview were
recorded using an audio recorder.
Second, the researchers played and replayed the recorded interview to organize
the data gathered.
Third, after listening to the recorded interview, the researchers thematized the
responses of the respondents.
Fourth, the researchers translated the gathered data in academic English.
Fifth, the researchers grouped the responses accordingly.

III. FINDINGS AND DISCUSSIONS

Findings in this paper described the basis of interventions and factors affecting decision
making of parents to their children with special needs in Baguio City. In which one of
them has children with Down Syndrome , one with cerebral palsy and three with autism.
The field text gathered from the participants were categorized into three: Basis of
interventions of parents, Factors that influence parents decision-making and Parents
income affects their intervention and decision-making .

I. Basis of Interventions of Parents of Children with Disability

The researcher’s context on intervention is the ways and means of parents in
remediating problems encountered in relation to the child’s needs or enhancing what
the child has or can do. Intervention from the root word intervene means to become
involved intentionally in a difficult situation in order to change it or improve it, or
prevent it from getting worse
(http://dictionarycambridge.org/us/dictionary/english/intervene).
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There were four themes that emerge under this category; Health Care Professionals,
Parent to Parent, Parent Instinct, and School Administration.

A. Health Care Professionals

Health care professionals play a central and critical role in improving access and quality
health care for the population. They provide essential services that promote health,
prevent diseases and deliver health care services to individuals, families and communities
based on the primary health care approach. (WHO, 2006). A parent having a child with
special needs would most likely consider asking these professionals for a reliable
diagnosis. They approach these professionals in search for answers to their questions
about their child’s needs and of course the interventions that they have to implement. and
so after the consultation they would have to have access to such health services. “Health
service” are services performed by health care professionals, or by others under their
direction, for the purpose of promoting, maintaining or restoring health. (WHO, 2004).
The services themselves are offered through a public or private agency and are provided
in different settings such as your home, a clinic, a neighborhood daycare center or Head
start program, a hospital, or a local health department. Through the search and finally
finding professionals that are available, the parent/professional relationship or
collaboration then is built for the purpose also of making interventions to be implemented
for the child (NICHCY, 2003). The collection of ideas on intervention given by these
professionals will then serve as the parent’s basis in giving intervention to their child.

As to the responses of parent participant in this study, their basis in giving interventions
to their children with disabilities are occupational therapist, developmental pediatrician,
and child psychologist which were summarized under health care professionals.

One health care professional mentioned by one parent participant having a child with
autism as stated in the transcription below are the occupational therapists which help
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people across the lifespan participate in the things they want and need to do through the
therapeutic use of everyday activities or occupations “He was brought to Mr. Edwin
Tayab, an occupational therapist in Trinidad. His findings after my son was tested,
gave me and my husband our impression on our child”,“My bases are the
occupational therapist, the Philippine Mental Health, and what we have
observed”,“We took him to a therapist because that was what the doctor said.”

Occupational therapy for children and young people aims to promote optimal well-being,
function, independence and productivity within the context of their lifestyle and
environments. This is achieved through the development and application of a plan of
purposeful, goal-directed activities specifically related to occupational performance and
occupational performance components. (Queensland, Department of Education, Training
and Employment, 2012)

A Developmental Pediatrician is also mentioned. This is one of the health care

professional who diagnoses the child of one parent participant“we went to a Child
Psychologist but sadly there was no Child psychologist so we seek the help of a
developmental pediatrician for another diagnosis. So it was just the same observation
and they said it was probably autism.” Developmental Pediatrician is a doctor with
special training in the care of children and certified by the  Board of Pediatrics, who
brings a child- and family oriented perspective to the evaluation process. (Coplan, 2011)

And lastly, the knowledge from child psychologists is also one of the bases of parents.
Child Psychologists are capable of performing detailed IQ Testing and Educational
Testing. Child Psychologists often provide ongoing therapy services aimed at helping a
child and his or her parents address behavioral, emotional, and/or educational issues
(Coplan, 2011). As shown in the statement of one participant, “There is this center by
Sir Erwin Gonzalez, a clinical psychologist where they give intervention to children
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with autism. It is called SAM or Structured Autism Mentoring. They teach some Daily
Living Skills and Academics too.”

These professional uses their position and expert powers for skilled competent
intervention towards the child with special needs, and the responsibility for intervention
is taken off the parents’ shoulders. This may be especially appropriate if parents do not
have inclination, capability or expertise to give similar assistance themselves. All of the
participants answered that one of their basis in seeking knowledge and in giving
interventions to their child with special needs are the health care professionals. This
implies that the parents interviewed consider the help of health care professionals in the
interventions they implement for their child.

B. School Administration
An “Administrator” as defined in Miriam Webster Dictionary is a person who manages
or has a talent for managing. They manage routine activities and provide instructional
leadership to the other staff of the school such as the teachers, some of the parents and
social services agencies (Levinson & Palmer,2005). However, education administrator
will vary depending on the institution of employment. For schools, this job is usually the
role of a principal or assistant principal. For private schools and businesses, the job may
be as a director of programs or head master. Libraries and museums often employ
administrators as instruction coordinators. For colleges and universities, education
administrators are employed at all levels of the management structure — as admissions
officers, department heads, and as deans and provosts
(https://www.sokanu.com/careers/education-administrator/).

Being one of the admin of the school is a tough work. Duties and responsibilities are in
their shoulder. They will think on what to do to help parents especially the child with
disability in giving appropriate intervention. As one of the participant said “I based my
interventions through my observations, his reactions, and what the experts were telling
me especially his teacher’s feedback.” With the teacher’s knowledge, it helps the parent
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to know more about the disability of the child and what to do if ever things happen in an
undesirable place/time. Roles and responsibilities of the administrators, teachers and
other staffs needs collaboration to ensure that the result is reliable. Some of their
responsibilities are handling relations with parents, students, employers, and the
community; overseeing record-keeping; managing student services such as guidance
programs; assisting with recruitment, public or alumni relations and marketing activities;
providing administrative support to an academic team of lecturers, tutors or teachers;
drafting and interpreting regulations and dealing with queries and complaints procedures;
contributing to policy and planning; purchasing goods and equipment, as required, and
processing invoices; organizing and facilitating a variety of educational or social
activities; handling relations with parents, students, employers, and the community
(https://www.sokanu.com/careers/education-administrator/)

Referrals can be done also by Administrators to help both the parents and the child, and
the teacher. As one of the statements said by the participant “ Sometimes in their school
there are referrals by SPED teachers.”But before doing such, the teacher should provide
examples of the student’s work and/or anecdotal classroom notes regarding the student’s
needs to determine whether referral is still needed (Project IDEAL in Action, 2013).
Observations inside and outside the classroom is also needed. It would add some
information that would be used when adminidtrators descide whether the child needs to
be refered or not. “However because of the observations seen by the teacher, he was
referred to the principal and they have to refer him to the Philippine Mental Health.”
This statement by the respondent will shows that observation and assessment should be a
part of their everyday work at each stage of provision. It is a primary tool before
Assessment. In addition, the Administrator together with the teacher should call a
meeting with the parents or guardians to ensure the safety of the student. The
student’s parents/guardians should be kept informed of any changes in the student’s
progress. If the teacher, after a period of time, determines the problem cannot be
controlled with simple classroom interventions, then the teacher should notify the
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parents/guardians that they will be asking for outside help from a school-based pre-
referral team (Project IDEAL in Action, 2013).

The major purpose of the special education administrative organization is to provide and
maintain those environmental conditions in schools that are most conducive to the growth
and learning of children with special needs (CEC Policy Manual,1997 Section Three,
Professional Policies, Part 1 Chapter 3,Special Education in the Schools). You may be a
regular child or a child with disability, fair treatment should be imposed. Nevertheless,
Administrators must give more focus, in both time and resources, to preparing students in
the outside world. Lastly, parents rely on what the teachers say. From the activity given
or the interventions given to their child until the end of the individualized Educational
Plan or the IEP.

C. Parent to Parent
This theme refers to the intervention suggested or recommended by other parents having
the same experience. One of the great assistance a parent can consider is an advice from
other parents having a child with the same disability as said by two parent participants
“My co worker has a child also with the same case with my son. He gave me a number
of a doctor bit it’s too expensive. 600 Php. For an hour of course we haven’t yet saved
money”,“When I talk to other parents I feel calm that my son has the same behavior
with their son”
Parent to parent communication is very important, since it is one way of sourcing
information and advice coming from them, it may serve as an encouragement. Joining a
parent group would also be helpful as most of researches concluded. Some groups are
organized around one particular disability (e.g., cerebral palsy, Tourette syndrome, Down
syndrome), while other groups draw together parents who, irrespective of the disabilities
of other children, have similar concerns such as daycare, transportation, coping, or
finding out about and supporting special education in their community. Within each of
these groups, information, emotional and practical support, and common concerns can be
shared (National Information Center for Children and Youth with Dissabilities, 2003).
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Two out of Three parents said that they have also talked to other parents having a child
with the same disability. Through their encounter with other parents they have gathered
information like the professionals they can consult, the interventions they can implement,
and most especially great encouragement from them.

D. Parent’s Instinct
This issue refers to the gut feeling of the mother or father this maybe the result of their
observation on the physical appearance or the behavioral attributes of the child. Like for
instance, one parent participant have already noticed that his child has disability due to
his physical look and the way how the child interacts “ his physical attributes are very
much evident that he had a disability and they could cope with him while they are
playing like they could not just get anything that he was holding, and he is so childish”

Parents Instincts is important in the observation because this where their knowledge
occur about the Physical Appearance of their child according to Coletti, J. (___). Physical
attributes is important for assessment of the potentials of emission computed tomography
implemented by collimated detector systems include sensitivity, statistical and angular
sampling requirements, attenuation compensation, resolution uniformity, and multi
section design constraints. And the behavioral attributes, is a broad term referring to a
wide range of formal and informal techniques used by clinicians and researchers to
document the behaviors of their clients and subjects. Often the term is used to describe
behaviors that are observed during the course of an assessment. It also refers to
observations made in other settings such as at home, work or school. Overall, the purpose
of behavioral observations is to facilitate an accurate description and understanding of the
client (Stapel, Jennifer L;Encyclopedia of Child Behavior and Development)

In some case as one participant stated, “ His weaknesses were usually on academics
but not necessarily on the subjects but the skills like writing he is lazy”, “His fonder of
verbal activities and kinesthetic activities such as dancing”parents who have watched
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and worried over a child where something didn’t seem “quite right” take an important
step when they decide to have their child evaluated. (Waxman, 2011).

As mentioned by one of the parent his child weakness were usually on academics but not
on the subjects itself but more on the skills which is writing because he is lazy. Waxman
believed that other child is not good on their skills just because they are lazy.
Caterino and Polak (1999) added also to the growing body of knowledge extrolling the
cognitive benefits of physical exercise a recent study concludes that mental focus and
concentration levels in young children improve significantly after engaging in structured
physical activity.

The findings suggest that such physical exercise as running, jumping and aerobic game
playing and decision making. This means that parents should give more activities to
improve the motor skills of their child. It was also mentioned in this article that the third
point of entry for creating kinesthetic lessons is in authentic dance forms. Exposing
young children of a pluralistic word in which difference is respected and universality is
celebrated.

Children have many ways of expressing themselves and we can begin to understand what
they are experiencing and the meaning they bring to their experiences by observing them.
Observing is not a passive procedure. You as the provider may be a part of an
observation you see. By observing the child in a variety of settings and with a focus on
the different areas of development, you will gain a richer picture of the child, which will
assist you in responding to their needs. Combining the written observations with samples
of child's art, writing, pictures of the activities that the child participates in or
photographs of outside play, helps you establish an active dialog with the child and his or
her family, even as the child is growing and changing. Reflecting on these observations
allows you to gain a deeper understanding of the ways in which children interact with
their environment to construct meaning. The time invested in observations is small
compared to the benefits in the results.
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II. Factors Affecting Parents Decision-Making

Under this category, the researchers grouped the responses of parent participants in
question what are the factors affecting parent’s decision-making in providing their child’s
needs? There were four themes clustered: Health Care Professionals, School
Administration, Government Agencies and Parents Educational Background, Values, and
Beliefs are factors that that helps produce or influence a result of an effective decision
making for the parents in order to help their child with disability.

III. Factors Affecting Parents Decision-Making

Under this category, the researchers grouped the responses of parent participants in
question what are the factors affecting parent’s decision-making in providing their child’s
needs? There were four themesclustered: Health Care Professionals, School
Administration, Government Agencies and Parents Educational Background, Values, and
Beliefs are factors that that helps produce or influence a result of an effective decision
making for the parents in order to help their child with disability.

There are factors that affects the parent’s decision making. Decision making was found to
be multi-faceted and complex as cited by Weber (2011) from the articles of Chaudry A.
(2004), Kahneman et al. (1982), Scott (2005), and Slovic (1987). It was defined as
decisions parent’s make regarding child care that affects the ability of child care policies to
achieve desired outcomes (Weber, 2011). In addition with the article of Weber (2011) there
are specific factors he mentioned to be as affecting the decision making of parents for their
children namely: Family, Community, Opportunities, Constraints, and Barriers.

A. Health Care Professionals

Medical Health Care Professionals is one of the factors that affect the parent’s decision
making. As shown inthe answers of participants.
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“They brought me at the consultation where they explained to me the condition of my

child which is down syndrome.”, “They also explained to me the implication of being
pregnant at a young age.”
From thesestatement, parents can find themselves overwhelmed by various medical, care
giving, and educational responsibilities (Thwala, 2015). They can communicate “bad
news” in ways that alleviate parents’ stress and are supportive, and they should not
assume that all parents will be devastated by information about their child’s difficulties’
(King et. Al 2004). Hence, health care professionals should be viewed as a main source
of information whether it is good or bad as long as it will satisfy the parent’s questions
about their child. It was also stated according to (Cunningham and Davis,1985) that their
function would be to guide the parent in reaching effective and appropriate decisions.
Decision-making should proceed through a process of two-way dialogue and negotiation.
‘Negotiation within the context of a mutually respecting relationship is the foundation.
B. School Administration

The role of parents in their child’s educational treatment has changed over the years with
an increasing emphasis on empowerment and decision making (Hess et. Al, 2006)
Close parental contact with the school system is vital in order for the child to receive a
proper education. Parents must collaborate with the teacher in order for their child’s
education to be effective. Teachers and parent have to be partners in the education of the
child with disability as cited by Thwala et al. (2015) from the research of Smith (2002).
This partnership of parent and school has unique resources to share with education and
healthcare professionals.
As to one parent participant stated “because of the observation of the teacher to my child,
the student was referred to the school principal.”,“After which, “the school where his
child was studying referred them to the Philippine Mental Health.”
In this case, there should be a program that will enhance the relationship of parent and
teachers , this is in accordance to Thwala et al., (2015) that stakeholders in the education
sector should devise a wide range of programs that aimed at meeting the parent’s needs.
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In some instances where parents will now decide for the schooling of the child with
special needs they should cooperate to the rules and regulations of the school like for
instance in the answer of one participant “but if attendance is not a must I do not usually
attend.”Parents play a greater role in the education of their children because they know
their children better and are able to inform the teachers about their learning problems
however, they should cooperate in some programs or seminars sponsored by the school for
them to enhance their knowledge pertaining to their child’s needs. With a clear rapport
between the school administration and the parents it would eventually lead to an
empowered school and parents relationship and makes the decision making reliable.

C. Government Programs/Services
One of the theme that come into view under this category is a program or services
developed by government or non-government that will provide assistance to children with
special needs . The impact of a range of public and private programs and policies to
improve child and family outcomes depends on parents’ child care decisions.
Understanding parental child care decision-making increases the likelihood that policies
and program will be designed to effectively support parents’ decision-making and improve
child and family outcomes (Weber, 2011). According to one participant there were some
programs or services that support them. As one respondent stated: “There were programs
in our barangay that were considered government projects for instance having a
barangay doctor” ,“most information I relied on come from the barangay doctor.”
Families live in communities and their options are affected by what is and is not available
within a manageabledistance from home or work. The number of child care options is
linked to population size; families in ruraland other sparsely populated communities
typically have fewer options (Gordon, R. A., &Högnas, R. S.2006). This is in accordance
to(Hofferth, S. L., Shauman, K. A., & Henke, R. R.1998) that communities also vary in the
number and strength of social networks, whichstudies have found to be the major source of
child care information.
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The government provides some services/ benefits that can help improve the living of
individuals with disabilities. The cooperation of local authority and the members of the
community can help one another in the information dissemination about the availability
of the services that are offered. As members of the society persons with disability has the
privilege to receive the services that are offered by the government.
Disabled persons are part of the Philippine society, thus the Senate shall give full support
to the improvement of the total well-being of disabled persons and their integration into
the mainstream of society. Toward this end, the State shall adopt policies ensuring the
rehabilitation, self-development and self-reliance of disabled persons.
It shall develop their skills and potentials to enable them to compete favorably for
available opportunities. Disabled persons have the same rights as other people to take
their proper place in society. They should be able to live freely and as independently as
possible. This must be the concern of everyone the family, community and all
government and non-government organizations. Disabled person’s rights must never be
perceived as welfare services by the Government.(R.A. 7277)

“He got service from the Persons With Disabilities card with a 3 year discount. He also
receives a monthly allowance. Also, he as given by a scholarship program in UB which
is 500 for transportation. Although the program only offers a 1 year for every benefit,
James is 2 years on the program”
Educational assistance to persons with disability, for them to pursue primary, secondary,
tertiary, post tertiary, as well as vocational or technical education, in both public and
private schools, through the provision of scholarships, grants, financial aids, subsidies
and other incentives to qualified persons with disability, including support for books,
learning materials, and uniform allowance to the extent feasible (R.A. 9442).

A clear distinction is evident between countries where support is delivered by a specialist

school staff member, and those where support is delivered by a specialist professional
external to the school. It is argued that classroom assistants need to be sufficiently qualified
 20

if they are to improve the education of children with special needs (Network of Early-
Career Sustainable Scientists & Engineers, 2012).
The impact of a range of public and private programs and policies to improve child and
family outcomes depends on parents’ child care decisions. Understanding parental child
care decision-making increases the likelihood that policies and program will be designed to
effectively support parents’ decision-making and improve child and family
outcomes.Parents are their children’s first and most enduring teachers. In the course
ofnormal development, parents support their children’s language, social, and
academicdevelopment (Hart &Risley, 1995).

D. Parent Educational Background, Values and Beliefs

This refers on how extensive the knowledge and capability of the parent is pertaining to
their child’s disability. As one parent participant explained when she was asked “I also
watched CD that was very helpful in giving information about autism. Kids like him
already exposed.”This method issame with Weber (2011) who says that the ability to get
information of parents depends on understanding on their preferred ways of gathering
information and how critical trust is that many parents as they make a decision of high
importance and little certainty.
The parent participant also added that she is aware on the disability of his child when she
answered “I already have knowledge about autism, because, when I was still in school, I
got some units of psychology which talks about autism. This is where I got some insights
on what to do and to avoid.”

According to Dowsett et al. (2008) and Early et al. (2001), there are some “parent and
child care” arrangement that varies with the characteristics of the family and the
community and one of those is the education of parents (Weber, 2011). This would able the
parents have to access information in-person and have insights that are not yet given by
experts in medical field.
 21

In some instance, parent may just conclude or depend on their opinion on how they made
decisions .There are dynamic set of parents opinion that are connected on how they are
making decisions for their child. As to the respond of participant“He was born in a
tricycle and the road that time was so bumpy so my wife gave birth to him inside the
vehicle. What we knew that is the cause of my child disability and what we knew his
spinal cord was broken when his mother was giving birth.”
The said statement of participant is in relation to Weber (2011) when he stated preference
emerge out of values, beliefs, and the other family and community factors that shape a
parent’s child care decision. Families live in community and their options are affected by
what is and not available within a manageable distance from home or work. In a research
entitled Parental perceptions of characteristics of non-parental child care: Belief
dimensions, Family and child correlates (Gamble, 2009) and “Trust your instincts”; Racial
ethnic and class-based preferences in employed mothers’ childcare choices (Uttal, 1997).
These two articles states that Values and beliefs of parents also affect what arrangements
parents seek. Raising a child with disability requires flexibility and strength (Twala et. al,
2015). In order for parents to gain that there would a factor on where they could access
information and parent’s educational background would be the foundation.

IV. Parent’s Income

There were two themes clustered in this category namelyCurtailand Unwaged.

A. Curtail
Curtail pertains to reducing the prescribed amount of intervention to supplythe child’s
needs. As parent participant responded,as shown below:
“My co worker has a child also with the same case with my son. He gave me a number of
a doctor bit it’s too expensive. 600 php. For an hour of course we haven’t yet saved
money.”, “Yes it has big impact, for his daily needs we could provide it. What we really
have a problem with is the therapy he must undergo, it’s expensive”,“I cannot provide
better interventions to my child. Instead of giving him the 3 days in a week activity it
 22

became twice a week or once”,“Almost 75% of my take home pay goes to my son. When
they started deducting my loan that’s the time that I or his father had to bring him to
the center twice a week unlike before when my loan was not yet deducted we can bring
him to the center thrice a week. Before it was thrice a week but because of financial
issues we turned it twice a week”
B. Unwaged
This refers to the unemployed parent because they give precedence to their child. They
choose to take care of their child and give up their job“Of course my wife can’t work even
she took laundries from others all expenses are mine. So the therapy didn’t continue
because we can’t afford it.”,“Of course having a child with disability needs more
attention before we have a housekeeper who also take care my child but it can’t help so I
decided to give up my job and I have to look after my child”
The parent’s income has an effect on both Parent’s Basis of interventions for their child and
factors affecting the parent’s decision making. Access to financial assistance, whether it
comes through families, employers, tax credits, federal/state child care subsidies, or child
care providers with grants, or contracts, reduces the price barrier for some families (Weber,
2011). It is really evident that there is a need for financial assistance for parents of children
with disabilities right from giving birth since there are contributing factors that needed
medical assistance and financial assistance. From the statements above, having a child with
disability is really struggle because expenses arise from medical care, assistive devices, and
private education if not private tutorial center. As what Thwala et. al (2015), says on their
article, “raising a child with disability can be too expensive than raising a typical child”.

IV. CONCLUSION
The study successfully surfaced the parents basis of interventions and factors

affecting their decision making in providing the needs of their child with disability. The

researchers thereby conclude that the parents’ bases in giving interventions to their child

with special needs are the health care professionals, school administration, other parents,
 23

and their own instincts. On the other hand, the factors that affect the parents’ decision

making are the health care professionals, government agencies, and the parents’

educational background including their values and beliefs. Lastly, the effect of

parents’income in their intervention to the child’s needs are drawn into two themes

which are curtail and unwaged. The researchers also saw that regardless of the children’s

disabilities there is always a need for an increased financial assistance for educational and

medical purposes.

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