Informational Needs of Parents of Young Children with Special Needs: Technical Report

The study surveyed the informational needs of parents (N=367) of children, ages birth to 8 years, with disabilities and developmental delay. The questionnaire used, revised for this study, attempted to determine information needs by asking about interests and problems in child rearing through the use of "titles" of articles. It also surveyed attitudes and demographic information. Results are summarized for interests, problems, and preferred sources of information by the following categories: fathers and mothers combined; mothers versus fathers; mothers' level of education; mothers' race; mothers' marital status; age of child; gender of child; number of children; child rearing attitudes. Over half the parents expressed a strong concern over whether they could help their children reach their full potential. High readership ratings were given to titles about helping their special needs child adjust, building their child's self-confidence, enhancing learning and academic skills, developing imagination, and discipline. Strong interest was expressed in learning how to deal with the emotional highs and lows of parenting a child with special needs. Mothers with less than a high school education differed from other groups in preferring to get child rearing information from family and friends. In general, parents preferred different sources for information on different parenting topics. The questionnaire is appended. (Includes 33 references.) (DB)