Search results for: parents of children with disabilities

Authors: Husham Bayazed

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The infant immune system has a reputation for being weak and underdeveloped when compared to the adult immune system, but the comparison isn’t quite fair. At the start, as the COVID-19 pandemic drags on and evolves, many Pediatricians and kids' parents have been left with renewed questions about the consequences and sequel of infection on children and the steps to be taken if their child, has the symptoms of COVID-19 or tests positive. Recent Findings: Literature reviews and recent studies revealed that children are better than adults at controlling SARS-CoV-2. There was conflicting evidence on age-related differences in ACE2 expression in the nose and lungs. But scientists who measured the ‘viral load’ in children's upper airways have seen no clear difference between children and adults. Moreover, the hypothesis is that kids might be more exposed to other coronaviruses common cold with a production of ready protective antibodies to lock on to the pandemic coronavirus. But the evidence suggests that adults also have this immunity too. Strikingly, these ‘cross-reactive’ antibodies don’t offer any special protection. Summary: One of the few silver linings of the Covid-19 pandemic is that children are relatively spared. The kid's Innate Immunity is hardly the whole story, the innate immune response against SARS-CoV-2 infection is early initiative calm with low immunological tone to prevent an overactive immunity and with rapidly repair damage to the lungs in contrast to stormy waves in adults. Therefore, Kids are at much lower risk of Covid-19 infection and they are still winning the battle against Covid-19 with their innate immunity.

Keywords: kids, Covid-19, immunity, ACT2

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Authors: Marie-Claude Richard, Amelie Bolduc-Mokhtar, Mathieu Parent

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People who have experienced maltreatment in childhood subsequently face many parenting issues of their own, in particular when it comes to distancing themselves from the abusive behaviors they were exposed and had access to positive role models. Few studies have explored the factors explaining the ability to break the generational cycle of child maltreatment. However, deeper knowledge of the factors associated with intergenerational discontinuity could facilitate the development of innovative interventions and increase the preventive potential of existing programs. This poster presentation will be about a better understanding of the intergenerational transmission of maltreatment (IGTM) from the perspective of both youth protection workers and parents receiving child protection services. The data used to meet this goal were collected from a group interview with eight youth protection workers whose caseloads involved IGTM situations and through semi-structured interviews with four parents with a history of child protection services and who were currently receiving such services for at least one of their children. In the view of the youth protection workers, the IGTM refers to everything that is transmitted and not transmitted from one generation to the next within a family. The study participants painted quite a bleak portrait of the families affected by IGTM. However, three main avenues of intervention were mentioned by the participants: working within the network, favoring long-term interventions and being empathic. The results also show that the mothers were in a trajectory of intergenerational discontinuity in child maltreatment. Support from their families and friends as well as from formal support services brought out some possible explanatory factors for intergenerational discontinuity in child maltreatment. From a prevention perspective, developing meaningful and trusting relationships seems a source of resilience for parents who were placed in the care of the child protection system as children. The small number of participants limits the generalizability of these results. The difficulty of recruiting parents is a substantial challenge regarding gaining knowledge on the intergenerational transmission of child maltreatment. Future studies should examine this question and seek to develop effective strategies to help recruit study participants.

Keywords: child maltreatment, intergenerational transmission, prevention, qualitative data

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Authors: Chalise Kiran

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The prime idea of inclusive education is to mainstream every child in education. However, it will be challenging for implementation when there are policy and practice gaps. It will be even more challenging when children have disabilities. Generally, the focus will be on the policy gap, but the problem may not always be with policy. The proper practice could be a challenge in the countries like Nepal. In determining practice, the teachers’ perceptions toward inclusive will play a vital role. Nepal has categorized disability in 7 types (physical, visual, hearing, vision/hearing, speech, mental, and multiple). Out of these, hearing impairment is the study realm. In the context of a limited number of researches on children with disabilities and rare researches on CWHI and their education in Nepal, this study is a pioneering effort in knowing basically the problems and challenges of CWHI focused on inclusive education in the schools including gaps and barriers in its proper implementation. Philosophically, the paradigm of the study is post-positivism. In the post-positivist worldview, the quantitative approach with the description of the situation and inferential relationship are revealed out in the study. This is related to the natural model of objective reality. The data were collected from an individual survey with the teachers and head teachers of 35 schools in Nepal. The survey questionnaire was prepared and filled by the respondents from the schools where the CWHI study in 7 provincial 20 districts of Nepal. Through these considerations, the perceptions of CWHI focused inclusive education were explored in the study. The data were analyzed using both descriptive and inferential tools on which the Likert scale-based analysis was done for descriptive analysis, and chi-square mathematical tool was used to know the significant relationship between dependent variables and independent variables. The descriptive analysis showed that the majority of teachers have positive perceptions toward implementing CWHI focused inclusive education, and the majority of them have positive perceptions toward CWHI focused inclusive education, though there are some problems and challenges. The study has found out the major challenges and problems categorically. Some of them are: a large number of students in a single class; availability of generic textbooks for CWHI and no availability of textbooks to all students; less opportunity for teachers to acquire knowledge on CWHI; not adequate teachers in the schools; no flexibility in the curriculum; less information system in schools; no availability of educational consular; disaster-prone students; no child abuse control strategy; no disabled-friendly schools; no free health check-up facility; no participation of the students in school activities and in child clubs and so on. By and large, it is found that teachers’ age, gender, years of experience, position, employment status, and disability with him or her show no statistically significant relation to successfully implement CWHI focused inclusive education and perceptions to CWHI focused inclusive education in schools. However, in some of the cases, the set null hypothesis was rejected, and some are completely retained. The study has suggested policy implications, implications for educational authority, and implications for teachers and parents categorically.

Keywords: children with hearing impairment, disability, inclusive education, perception

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Authors: Stephanie Duval

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The concept of educational success, combined with the overall development of the child in kindergarten, is at the center of current interests, both in research and in the environments responsible for the education of young children. In order to promote it, researchers emphasize the importance of studying the executive functions [EF] of children in preschool education. More precisely, the EFs, which refers to working memory [WM], inhibition, mental flexibility and planning, would be the pivotal element of the child’s educational success. In order to support the EFs of the child, and even his educational success, the quality of the environments is beginning to be explored more and more. The question that arises now is how to promote EFs for young children in the educational environment, in order to support their educational success? The objective of this study is to investigate the link between the quality of interactions in 5-year-old kindergarten and child’s EFs. The sample consists of 118 children (70 girls, 48 boys) in 12 classes. The quality of the interactions is observed from the Classroom Assessment Scoring System [CLASS], and the EFs (i.e., working memory, inhibition, cognitive flexibility, and planning) are measured with administered tests. The hypothesis of this study was that the quality of teacher-child interactions in preschool education, as measured by the CLASS, was associated with the child’s EFs. The results revealed that the quality of emotional support offered by adults in kindergarten, included in the CLASS tool, was positively and significantly related to WM and inhibition skills. The results also suggest that WM is a key skill in the development of EFs, which may be associated with the educational success of the child. However, this hypothesis remains to be clarified, as is the link with educational success. In addition, results showed that factors associated to the family (ex. parents’ income) moderate the relationship between the domain ‘instructional support’ of the CLASS (ex. concept development) and child’s WM skills. These data suggest a moderating effect related to family characteristics in the link between ‘quality of classroom interactions’ and ‘EFs’. This project proposes, as a future avenue, to check the distinctive effect of different environments (familial and educational) on the child’s EFs. More specifically, future study could examine the influence of the educational environment on EF skills, as well as whether or not there is a moderating effect of the family environment (ex. parents' income) on the link between the quality of the interactions in the classroom and the EFs of the children, as anticipated by this research.

Keywords: executive functions [EFs], environmental factors, quality of interactions, preschool education

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Authors: Özgür Bahadir, Meltem Kurtuncu

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The study was designed as quasi-experimental and conducted to determine the effect of music therapy on anxiety, fear and pain management in 6-12-year-old children undergoing surgery. The present study was carried out between 01.01.2016 and 19.08.2016 in BEU. Application and Research Center. The children aged 6 -12 who applied for surgery between the mentioned dates constituted the universe of the study. In the quasi-experimental study that was conducted in the clinics where children received operational treatment, two groups were formed: experimental group (the children who received musical therapy before the surgery) and control group (the children who were administered surveys and the surgery service routines only). Each group consisted of 30 children, and the participants of the study were 60 children in total. Necessary permissions were obtained from the parents of the children hospitalized before the beginning of the implementation. The data was collected through Child Anxiety Sensitivity Index (CASI), “Fear In Medical Treatment Scale”, Face, Legs, Activity, Cry, Consolability Scale (FLACC), Visual Analog Scale (VAS) and Participant Information Form. In the analysis of the data, Kolmogorov-Smirnov distribution scale was used to examine the normality of the distribution along with descriptive statistics methods (Frequency, Percentage, Mean, Standard Deviation). Data was presented in the tables in numbers and percentages. Means were demonstrated along with the standard deviations. The research compared children received; case and control groups include socio-demographic perspective, non-significant difference statistically among similar groups are intertwined. The general level of fear regarding the medical processes before returning to service after the operation and 30 minutes before getting discharged was found to be significantly low in the experimental group compared to control group (p<0.05). No statistically significant difference was found between experimental and control groups in terms of general level of fear regarding the medical processes before the operation, during the operation day and in the recovery room after the operation (p>0.05). Total CASI AD (anxiety sensitivity) levels before the operation, day of the operation and 30 minutes before the discharge for patients in experimental group was found to be significantly higher than the control group (p>0.05). There was no statistically significant difference between the experimental and control groups in the total CASI AD levels for the post-operative recovery room and for returning to the service room after the operation (p>0.05). VAS levels for patients in the experimental group in the post-operative recovery room was significantly higher than the control group (p>0.05). There was no statistically significant difference between the groups in terms of VAS findings in returning to service room after the operation and in 30 minutes before the discharge (p>0.05). As a result of the research; applied children music therapy in the experimental group anxiety, fear, and pain of the scales, their scores average, is lower than the control group children in this situation an increase in the satisfaction of children and parents was observed. In line with this, music therapy preoperative anxiety, fear, and can be used as an effective method of decreasing postoperative pain clinics is suggested.

Keywords: anxiety, children, fear, music therapy, pain

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Authors: Wann-Yun Shieh, Hsin-Yi Kathy Cheng, Yan-Ying Ju, Yu-Chun Yu, Ya-Cheng Shieh

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Adolescents who have intellectual disabilities often demonstrate maladaptive behaviors in their daily activities due to either physical abnormalities or neurological disorders. These adolescents commonly struggle with their cognition and movement coordination when it comes to executing tasks such as throwing or catching objects smoothly, quickly, and gracefully, in contrast to their typically developing peers. Simply measuring movement time and distance doesn't provide a comprehensive view of their performance challenges. In this study, a ball-playing approach was proposed to assess the cognition and movement coordination of adolescents with intellectual disabilities using a smart ball equipped with an embedded inertial sensor. Four distinct ball games were specifically designed for this smart ball: two focusing on lower limb activities (dribbling along a straight line and navigating a zigzag path) and two centered around upper limb tasks (picking up and throwing and catching the ball). The cognition and movement coordination of 25 adolescents with intellectual disabilities (average age 18.36 ± 2.46 years) with that of 25 typically developing adolescents (average age 18.36 ± 0.49 years) were compared in these four tests. The results clearly revealed significant differences in the cognition and movement coordination between the adolescents with intellectual disabilities and the typically developing adolescents. These differences encompassed aspects such as movement speed, hand-eye coordination, and control over objects across all the tests conducted.

Keywords: cognition, intellectual disabilities, movement coordination, smart ball

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Authors: Supranee Sittikan, Darunee Jongudomkarn, Rutja Phuphaibul

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Thai’s families with disabilities are diverse, poor economy, low education disproportionately characterized their living that includes stress and suffering. This article reports a preliminary study using a qualitative case study with six disabilities (five physical and one mental problem) Their six family caregivers who perceived they were managing well with their conditions as well. Data were collected by in-depth interviews during November-December 2017 in North-East of Thailand. Preliminary results were found factors of moving in comprised of three themes as followings Karma: the families believe that the disability happened because of bad-karma which attached to them. From the reason, the members of families have to deserve and accept it. Family attachment: the families believe in the importance of being the family so they have to take good care in one another whether happy or suffering Community support: the families can get more to received helping hands from local health care providers and community health volunteers. These activities are very important to be representative in taking the families through health accessibility, which help them face with disabling problems. Nevertheless, the study needs further exploring on other families’ and health care team's perspective in larger scales leading to develop an appropriate health care service system which can support and promote the well-being of the families living with disabilities in the future.

Keywords: families with disabilities, Karma, family attachment, community support

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Authors: Monika Skura

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People with physical disabilities, as with other people with differences in appearance or style of functioning come under negative social mechanisms. Therefore, it is worth asking what the relationship of the group is, who experience psychosocial effects because of their physical disability, towards people with intellectual disabilities, hearing impairments, visual impairments, mental illnesses, and their own physically disabled group. To analyse the perception of people with a physical disability, the study explores three areas: the acceptance or rejection of society’s stigmatization towards persons with disabilities; the importance of their own experience regarding their disability, in relation to another kind of disability; their level of acceptance to social interactions, in relation to various types of disabilities. The research sample consisted of 90 people with physical disabilities, who suffer from damage to the locomotor system. The data was collected using a questionnaire and the Adjective Check List by H. B. Gough and A. B. Heilbrun. This study utilized focus interviews to develop survey items for the questionnaire. The findings highlight that the response from those who were physically disabled agreed with the opinions of general society, not only with the issue of promoting integrated solutions and offering assistance but also having the same preferences and opinions about specific types of disability. However, their perception regarding their own group was noticeably different from that of general society. In the light of the study, for people with physical disabilities, just as for able-bodied people, it can be challenging to develop a meaningful relationship with people who have disabilities. All forms of disability suffer from negative attitudes and opinions that exist in society. The majority of those who were researched were focused primarily on their own problems, this inevitably hinders the integrity of the entire group, making it more difficult for it to find a cohesive voice, in which to promote their place within society.

Keywords: general society’s opinions about disability, people with different kinds of disability, perception, physical disability

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Authors: Kunyu Yan

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Early childhood music education plays a significant role in an individual’s growth. Music can help children understand themselves and relate to others, and make connections between family, school, and society. In recent years, with the development of early childhood education in China, an increasing number of kindergartens have been established, and many of them pay more attention to music education. This research has two main aims. One is to discover how and why music is used in both public and private kindergartens. The second aim is to make recommendations for widening the use of music in kindergartens. In order to achieve these aims, the research uses two main methods. Firstly, it considers the historical background and cultural context of early childhood education in China; and secondly, it uses an approach that compares public and private kindergartens. In this research, six kindergartens were chosen from Qingdao city in Shandong Province as case studies, including 3 public kindergartens and 3 private kindergartens. This research was based on using three types of data collection methods: observation, semi-structured interviews with teachers, and questionnaires with parents. Participant and non-participant observational methods were used and included in daily routines at the kindergartens in order to experience the situation of music education first-hand. Interviews were associated with teachers’ views of teaching and learning music, the perceptions of the music context, and their strategies of using music. Lastly, the questionnaire was designed to obtain the views of current music education from the children’s parents in the respective kindergartens. The results are shown with three main themes: (1) distinct characteristics of public kindergartens (e.g., similar equipment, low tuition fee, qualified teachers, etc); (2) distinct characteristics of private kindergartens (e.g., various tuition fees, own teaching system, trained teachers, etc); and (3) differences between public and private kindergartens (e.g., funding, requirements for teachers, parents’ demands, etc). According to the results, we can see that the main purpose of using music in China is to develop the musical ability of children, and teachers focus on musical learning, such as singing in tune and playing instruments. However, as revealed in this research, there are many other uses and functions of music in these educational settings, including music used for non-musical learning (e.g., counting, learning language, etc.) or in supporting social routines.

Keywords: differences between private and public school, early childhood education, music education, uses and functions of music

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Authors: Cheryl M. Bowen

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Understanding that children thrive in a multi-systems approach to mental health development, a growing number of schools often promote school-based positive youth development however, there is scant empirical evidence investigating effective school-based “wraparound” mental health services for low income, Latinx children and their families. This 10-month case study utilizes a sample of 281 low-income, Latinx parents and their children, and 23 K-5th grade teachers living in northern California to test the hypothesis that a school-based mental health program can strengthen students’ developmental asset attainment and positively impact the school environment. The study utilized triangulated data to ascertain the effects of two program levels - (a) mental health and (b) positive child development services. All services were site-based and meant to target a wide variety of families. Findings from the study report that the universal mental health program increased the developmental asset attainment in 5 out of 8 thriving indicators thus transforming the child within his/her environment. Data collected from the administrative referral report demonstrate that the project also positively impacted the school climate. Parents and teachers felt more connected to the school, and referrals were down for discipline (35%), academics (66%), and suspensions (51%). The study concludes that a transformational ecology model of positive child development is the most effective means to nurture connections to all socializing agencies in a child’s ecosystem.

Keywords: case study, child development, positive youth development, developmental assets, ecological systems theory

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Authors: Anna Amato

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Every child needs communication. If spoken language is not or not fully available due to congenital or acquired limitations, those affected need appropriate ways. These can be found in many possibilities of Augmentative and Alternative Communications (AAC). In the communication promotion of severely impaired children, who can use their own body communication forms only to a limited extent for the differentiated understanding, computers with eye control play an essential role. It takes some time to understand the individual forms of communication of the child. Children who depend on the AAC need competent support to learn to communicate in a motivated way in their everyday life. The aim of the present parents' survey (n = 4), which was evaluated descriptively, is to demonstrate the development of communicative abilities as well as the motivation to use complex communication aids with eye control by patients with atypical Rett Syndrome. An increase in communication skills, well-being, self-reliance, and self-esteem, an improvement in social participation, as well as a reduction in anger and screaming events, were noted. The complex visual communication tools were available daily for 3 out of 4 patients with atypical Rett Syndrome. It raises research questions regarding speech understanding and the ability to drive eye control technology in a larger group of atypical Rett Syndrome patients.

Keywords: augmentative and alternative communications, AAC, atypical Rett-syndrome, children, development

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Authors: Uchenna Bella Onu

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Violence has become a deadly plague in Nigeria and is spreading at an alarming rate. There is every indication that in a normal person, violence is not inborn but learned. Animated movies, which are designed to amuse and entertain children may contain a level of violence. These violent animated movies may affect the susceptible minds of children. This paper examines the effect of selected animated movies on Nigerian children. Sample is on Nigerian children aged seven and below. Method explored is participant observation with visual arts and visual technologies in a natural and familiar environment. Visual arts are used to draw out the innermost feelings of the young children. Findings show that animated movies have strong effect on Nigerian children. Whether the effect will be negative or positive depends largely on the content of the animated movies.

Keywords: animated movies, drawings, Nigerian children, videos, violence

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Authors: Metahri Leyla

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Herbal medicine is one of the oldest medicines in the world. It constitutes an interesting alternative to treat and cure without creating new diseases. Despite the progress of medicine, the increase in the number of doctors, the creation of social security, many parents have resorted to herbal medicine for their children; they are increasingly asking for "natural remedies", "without risk" for their children. Herbal tea is a very accessible way to enjoy the benefits of herbal medicine. Accordingly; the objective of our study is to obtain detailed information on the composition and mode of administration of these herbal teas and to identify the different plants used; their beneficial effects, as well as their possible toxicity. The current research work represents an ethnobotanical survey spread over one month (from January 6, 2021, to February 19, 2021) carried out by means of an electronic questionnaire concerning 753 respondents involving single or multiparous mothers. The obtained results reveal that a total of 684 mothers used herbal teas for their infants, which revealed the use of 55 herbal remedies for several indications, the most sought after are the carminative effect and relief of colic, and which 9% of users noticed undesirable effects linked to the administration of herbal teas to their infants. As a conclusion, it has been asserted that the use of herbal teas as a natural remedy by Algerian mothers is a widely accepted practice, however, the "natural" nature of the plants does not mean that they are harmless.

Keywords: herbal medicine, herbal teas, children, mothers, medicinal plants

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Authors: Matthias Grunke

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In this qualitative study, we interviewed a young man with learning disabilities who played professional baseball for two years. Individuals with severe academic challenges constitute one of the most vulnerable groups of our society. Science has to find ways on how to arm them against life’s challenges and help them to cope with the many risk factors that they are usually confronted with. Team sports like baseball seem to be a suitable means for that purpose. In the interview, our participant talked about his life as a student with severe learning difficulties and related how his career in baseball made his academic challenges appear much less significant. He gave some meaningful insights into what helped him to build a happy and fulfilling life for himself, not only in spite of his challenges but also because of what he's learning disabilities taught him. Support from significant others, a sense of purpose, his fighting spirit ignited by sports, and the success that he experienced on the baseball field were among the most relevant factors. Overall, this study highlights the importance of finding an outlet for young people with learning disabilities where their academic difficulties retreat into the background and their talents are validated.

Keywords: baseball, inclusion, learning disabilities, resilience

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Authors: Christine Okello

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Physical Education (PE) curriculum provides school age students to explore issues that are likely to impact on health, safety, and well-being. The current curriculum includes the physical activity component, intended to improve physical fitness, social skills as well as building confidence. While this viewpoint is vital, there are challenges and stigma attached when specific issues are either ignored, inadequately addressed, or not seen to be important. The department stipulates that students attend a school that is closest to their home, to access available government transportation to and from school. Equivalently, parents of students with a disability decide where their children attend school. A choice between a regular classroom, mainstream Special Unit classroom, or a School for Specific Purposes (SSP). Parents who take their children to regular schools may be oblivious of the details of the curriculum. Physical Education outcomes does not stipulate the extent to which a student must perform or expected to perform. It is therefore due to the classroom teacher to adjust their teaching goals or outcomes to suit all students in their classroom. A student who can run a hundred meters race in 20 seconds may belong in the same classroom as a student in a wheelchair. While these students are challenged because of a lack of performance, teachers are challenged to effectively teach successful PE lessons, and on the other hand students without a disability may not be able to attain their optimum. This paper will identify areas of need, address the challenges, and explore a possible solution.

Keywords: special needs, disability, challenges, physical education

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Authors: Fatima Ahdash

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Over the last 6-7 years, the UK has resorted to using the family courts and the family justice system more generally as a way of dealing with children and young people either traveling to or returning from ISIS territories in the Middle East. This is an important innovation in counter-terrorism laws and practices in the UK: never before have the family courts been used for the purpose of preventing and countering terrorism anywhere in the world. This paper will examine this innovation; it will explore how, why, and the implications of the interaction between family law and counter-terrorism, particularly on the human rights of the parents and children involved. It will question whether the use of the family courts provides a more useful, and perhaps human rights compliant, method of tackling terrorism and extremism when compared to other more Draconian legal and administrative methods.

Keywords: counter-terrorism, family justice, law, human rights

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Authors: Nguyen Thi Loan, Phan Ngoc Thanh Tra

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Container is one of the techniques used in Eye Movement Desensitization and Reprocessing (EDMR) Therapy. This paper presents the positive results of applying Container technique to “high risk children”. The sample for this research is composed of 60 “high risk children” whose ages range from 11 to 18 years old, housed in Ho Chi Minh City Youth Center. They have been under the program of the Worldwide Orphans Foundation since August 2015 for various reasons such as, loss of parents, anti-social behaviors, homelessness, child labor among others. These “high risk children” are under high levels of stress, anxiety and depression. The subjects were divided into two groups: the control and the experimental with 30 members each. The experimental group was applied Container Technique and the instruments used to measure their levels of stress, anxiety, and depression are DASS-42 and ASEBA. Results show that after applying the Container Technique to the experimental group, there are significant differences between the two groups’ levels of stress, anxiety and depression. The experimental group’s levels of stress, anxiety and depression decreased significantly. The results serve as a basis for the researchers to make an appeal to psychologists to apply Container Technique in doing psychological treatment in a suitable context.

Keywords: anxiety, depression, container technique, EMDR

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Authors: Gunendra Rathnawali Kumarihamy Dissanayake

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Research on parenting of both perpetrators and victims of domestic violence (DV) is growing but limited. Further, much of this research in the Asian context is limited to explorations of victim mothers' parenting capacities, not shedding much light on the parenting of the perpetrator fathers. The current qualitative study aimed to explore how both the perpetrators and victims of DV engaged in parenting in the Sri Lankan cultural context. Twenty case studies were conducted with a sample of help-seeking women aged 20 to 40 years representing working to upper-middle social class. Participants have interviewed about their own as well as their partners´ parenting behaviors. The majority of women reported that their partners were often aggressive, controlling and authoritarian, less consistent, and engaged in a variety of manipulative behaviors intending to harm the relationship between their child and them. Further, victim mothers' styles of parenting and authority as parents have been severely undermined by their partners through frequent criticism, ridicule, and insulting in front of the children. As a result, mothers experienced great difficulty specifically trying to discipline their adolescent children as the children have started to disregard the mothers' authority. Most of the children also have shown treatment similar to that of their fathers', treating the mother as a personal servant not worthy of being listened to, thereby increasing the mothers' parenting stress. The mothers were often blamed and held responsible for the problems of the children by their partners, encouraging the children to disrespect and blame the mother for their problems leading them to take the side of the father who had more power. Findings are similar to those of the western context. This study highlights the intersection between domestic violence and parenting, and specific implications and recommendations for DV service providers are offered.

Keywords: parenting, domestic violence, impact, children

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Authors: Walter Rafael Ramos Villanueva

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The overwhelming majority of scholarship on David Chariandy’s novel Soucouyant focuses on how Adele’s dementia represents the preservation of “cultural memory” and the perniciousness of “historical trauma.” However, by metaphorizing Adele’s mental condition, these critics risk treating her dementia as mostly figurative, and they thus elide a more detailed discussion of the literal ramifications of her dementia diagnosis. To move beyond these readings, then, my paper will approach Adele’s disorder as a literal medical condition and explore how her caregiving needs affect not only her but also those around her. Soucouyant subverts traditional caregiving narratives by depicting the difficult and typically invisible labour of informal caregiving that is undertaken by the families and friends of those who are ill or otherwise disabled. Because Adele’s family is unable to access proper public healthcare resources within the community, the burden of care falls upon the protagonist and his brother, who become “parentified children.” Parentified children, according to Nancy D. Chase, are “parents to their parents, and fulfill this role at the expense of their own developmentally appropriate needs and pursuits.” The novel provides a depiction of informal caregiving that is multi-faceted and asks us to question why is it exactly that we place the burden of care on those who are not equipped to handle such pressures instead of putting the onus on the government and the public healthcare system to take care of its most vulnerable members. Ageing Studies scholar Larry Polvika notes that although policymakers often offer “pious expressions of appreciation” and acknowledge that informal caregiving is “the backbone of our long-term care system,” governmental support for these caregivers remains inadequate. It is my belief that, by showcasing the struggles of informal caregivers, Chariandy’s text combats this dangerous and empty political rhetoric.

Keywords: caregiving, dementia, literature, parentified children

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Authors: Ana Maria Reis d'Azevedo Breda, Catarina Maria Neto da Cruz

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The role of images/illustrations in communicating meanings and triggering emotions assumes an increasingly relevant role in contemporary texts, regardless of the age group for which they are intended or the nature of the texts that host them. It is no coincidence that children's books are full of illustrations and that the image/text ratio decreases as the age group grows. The vast majority of children's books can be considered multimodal texts containing text and images/illustrations interacting with each other to provide the young reader with a broader and more creative understanding of the book's narrative. This interaction is very diverse, ranging from images/illustrations that are not essential for understanding the storytelling to those that contribute significantly to the meaning of the story. Usually, these books are also read by adults, namely by parents, educators, and teachers who act as mediators between the book and the children, explaining aspects that are or seem to be too complex for the child's context. It should be noted that there are books labeled as children's books that are clearly intended for both children and adults. In this work, following a qualitative and interpretative methodology based on written productions, participant observation, and field notes, we will describe the perceptions of future teachers of the 1st cycle of basic education, attending a master's degree at a Portuguese university, about the role of the image in literary and non-literary texts, namely in mathematical texts, and how these can constitute precious resources for emotional regulation and for the design of creative didactic situations. The analysis of the collected data allowed us to obtain evidence regarding the evolution of the participants' perception regarding the crucial role of images in children's literature, not only as an emotional regulator for young readers but also as a creative source for the design of meaningful didactical situations, crossing other scientific areas, other than the mother tongue, namely mathematics.

Keywords: children’s literature, emotions, multimodal texts, soft skills

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Authors: M. Shukry

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According to the United Nations Declaration of Human Rights in 1948, every human being is entitled to rights in life that should be respected by others and protected by the state and community. Such rights are inherent regardless of colour, ethnicity, gender, religion or otherwise, and it is expected that all humans alike have the right to live without discrimination of any sort. However, that has not been the case with Aborigines in Australia. Over a long period of time, the governments of the State and the Territories and the Australian Commonwealth denied the Aboriginal and Indigenous inhabitants of the Torres Strait Islands such rights. Past Australian governments set policies and laws that enabled them to forcefully remove Indigenous children from their parents, which resulted in creating lost generations living the trauma of the loss of cultural identity, alienation and even their own selfhood. Intending to reduce that population of natives and their Aboriginal culture while, on the other hand, assimilate them into mainstream society, they gave themselves the right to remove them from their families with no hope of return. That practice has led to tragic consequences due to the trauma that has affected those children, an experience that is depicted by Jane Harrison in her play Stolen. The drama is the outcome of a six-year project on lost children and which was first performed in 1997 in Melbourne. Five actors only appear on the stage, playing the role of all the different characters, whether the main protagonists or the remaining cast, present or non-present ones as voices. The play outlines the life of five children who have been taken from their parents at an early age, entailing a disastrous negative impact that differs from one to the other. Unknown to each other, what connects between them is being put in a children’s home. The purpose of this paper is to analyse the play’s text in light of the 1948 Declaration of Human Rights, using it as a lens that reflects the atrocities practiced against the Aborigines. It highlights how such practices formed an outrageous violation of those natives’ rights as human beings. Harrison’s dramatic technique in conveying the children’s experiences is through a non-linear structure, fluctuating between past and present that are linked together within each of the five characters, reflecting their suffering and pain to create an emotional link between them and the audience. Her dramatic handling of the issue by fusing tragedy with humour as well as symbolism is a successful technique in revealing the traumatic memory of those children and their present life. The play has made a difference in commencing to address the problem of the right of all children to be with their families, which renders the real meaning of having a home and an identity as people.

Keywords: aboriginal, audience, Australia, children, culture, drama, home, human rights, identity, Indigenous, Jane Harrison, memory, scenic effects, setting, stage, stage directions, Stolen, trauma

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Authors: Maha Atout, Pippa Hemingway, Jane Seymour

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A preliminary systematic review shows that health professionals experience a tension when communicating with the parents and family members of children with life-threatening and life-limiting conditions. On the one hand, they want to promote open and honest communication, while on the other, they are apprehensive about fostering an unrealistic sense of hope. Defining the boundaries between information that might offer reasonable hope versus that which results in false reassurance is challenging. Some healthcare providers worry that instilling a false sense of hope could motivate parents to seek continued aggressive treatment for their child, which in turn might cause the patient further unnecessary suffering. To date, there has been a lack of research in the Middle East regarding how healthcare providers do or should communicate bad news; in particular, the issue of hope in the field of paediatric palliative care has not been researched thoroughly. This study aims to explore, from the perspective of patients’ mothers, physicians, and nurses, the experience of communicating and receiving bad news in the care of children with palliative care needs. Data were collected using a collective qualitative case study approach across three paediatric units in a Jordanian hospital. Two data collection methods were employed: participant observation and semi-structured interviews. The overall number of cases was 15, with a total of 56 interviews with mothers (n=24), physicians (n=12), and nurses (n=20) completed, as well as 197 observational hours logged. The findings demonstrate that mothers wanted their doctors to provide them with hopeful information about the future progression of their child’s illness. Although some mothers asked their doctors to provide them with honest information regarding the condition of their child, they still considered a sense of hope to be essential for coping with caring for their child. According to mothers, hope was critical to treatment as it helped them to stay committed to the treatment and protected them to some extent from the extreme emotional suffering that would occur if they lost hope. The health professionals agreed with the mothers on the importance of hope, so long as it was congruent with the stage and severity of each patient’s disease. The findings of this study conclude that while parents typically insist on knowing all relevant information when their child is diagnosed with a severe illness, they considered hope to be an essential part of life, and they found it very difficult to handle suffering without any glimmer of it. This study finds that using negative terms has extremely adverse effects on the parents’ emotions. Hence, although the mothers asked the doctors to be as honest as they could, they still wanted the physicians to provide them with a positive message by communicating this information in a sensitive manner including hope.

Keywords: health professionals, children, communication, hope, information, mothers, palliative care

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Authors: Sherry Junette Tagle

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Extensive research continues to prove the positive effects of home and school collaborations in education. Although parent involvement programs in Benguet, Philippines are in place, the impact has yet to affect the current aggregate performance of elementary pupils. This study describes the involvement of public elementary teachers and parents along Epstein’s types of involvement using the sequential explanatory design. Survey and interview results show that teachers place greater value on activities that cater to communicating, volunteering, learning at home and decision making. On the other hand, parents are actively involved in all six types and value the importance of their involvement in school to their child’s schooling. Parents of grades 1-4 pupils significantly give importance to communicating activities to offset difficulties encountered by young pupils while parents of grades 5-6 pupils, have declining interest in volunteering and learning at home activities citing older children as being more independent to do teacher-assigned tasks. Teachers, compared to the other respondent groups, significantly place higher value on the importance of parent leaders as their partners in implementing school activities. In general, involvement of parents and teachers in home-school activities is intensive in the lower grade levels and decreases as their child progresses through school. A recommended program for future collaborations of the Philippine’s Department of Education has been formulated to diversify existing activities and elicit greater participation among the school’s stakeholders to achieve holistic development of the pupils and ultimately improve pupils’ school aggregate performance.

Keywords: Epstein's types of involvement, community collaborations, home and school partnerships, parent involvement

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Authors: Fatemeh Jafari Hemmat Abadi

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Through empathy, caring, and nurturing, benevolent leaders can help people with disabilities overcome the stigma of disability and smile at their work environment and work. The main purpose of our research is to examine the performance of people with physical disabilities in virtual teams across geographical, cultural and linguistic barriers around the world. Our results show the relationship between benevolent leadership and the three components of well-being among administrative staff, disability including perceived discrimination, job satisfaction and the need for improvement. The two factors identified for productivity are pervasive team attitudes in the team and proper leadership by the team leader.

Keywords: benevolent leadership, virtual teams, group attitudes pervasive, climate including disability

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Authors: Ian C. Padgett

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Future of society is built on the foundations built by the parents of today and how they raise their children. Strong foundations are made by accepting environments, good morals, and sound educations. Child abuse is a harm that immediately corrupts a child and everything that could do for society. Every child is a segment of modern society and future society, every child corrupted is a segment of society corrupted. Physical abuse is a clear abuse that leaves bruises and can traumatize a child for life, it can leave scars but effect a child’s mind for life. Another form of abuse, however, still impacts a child for life but with no scars to be seen. Child mental abuse directly targets children’s minds to control, manipulate, and belittle them. It becomes close to impossible to escape as there is no clear law defining mental abuse, the parent manipulates the child to stay quiet, and finally the child must come to terms that there parent is harming them. Society does not react to mental and physical abuse in the same manner. In a society that works to protect it future and it children, mental abuse is given a strange lack of attention. In order to protect children, all forms of abuse must be treated and given attention to. Mental abuse comes in many forms and can be extremely hard to spot, unlike physical abuse, but can still lead to the trauma other abuse can cause. While no abuse is worse than others, mental abuse should not be treated like it is nonexistent.

Keywords: Abuse Awareness, Child Mental Abuse, Effects of Abuse, Societal Issues

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Authors: Angelika Magiera, Weronika Penar, Czesław Klocek

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Intellectual disability (ID) affects approximately 1.55% of children and adults in the society of developed countries. Depending on the ID degree, the patient is burdened with additional disease entities. Intellectual disability does not only limits a person’s opportunities to participate in social life but also affects whole families. People with ID belong to the group of risk of mental illnesses, they are less emotionally stable, while families are predisposed to depression. The study was held in a day care center for people with intellectual disabilities (of various degrees of disability) on 26 people. Nurses and carers also took part. The age range of study groups ranged from 22 to 67 years. Therapeutic classes were held for four independent mixed groups (sex and intellectual disability degree) from 6 to 7 people each, lasting no more than 30 minutes. They were created by the facility's staff to make sure that a group is stable. The animal assisted activity took place with a 2.5-year-old Ragdoll cat. The animal has passed the exam (certificate entitling her to take part in felinotherapy) and had 1.5 years of work experience. Due to the different degrees of ID, an individual emotional state survey was conducted among the caregivers of those who were involved in the activity, to assess the impact of animal assisted activity with a cat on patients. A positive effect on the emotional state of people with different types of intellectual disability was observed. Caregivers and nurses of those participating in the study express willingness to continue these types of classes and consider them necessary for this group of people.

Keywords: intellectual disabilities, animal-assisted activity, cat, feline, emotions

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Authors: Tsung Chieh Ma, I-Ling Chen

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Disclosing family origins to adoptees is an important topic in the adoption process. Adoption agencies usually educate adoptive parents on how to disclose to adoptees, but many adoptive parents worry that the disclosure will affect the parent–child relationship. Thus, how adoptees would like to receive the disclosure and whether they subjectively feel that the parent–child relationship is affected are both topics worthy of further discussion. This research takes a qualitative approach and connects with adoption agencies to interview six adoptees who are now adults. The purpose of the interviews is to learn about their experience receiving disclosures and their subjective feelings after learning of their family origins. The aim is to reveal the changes disclosure brought to the parent–child relationship and whether common concerns are raised due to the adoptive status. We also want to know about factors that affect their identification with their adopted status so that we can consequently give advice to other adoptive families. in this study finds that adoptees see disclosure as a process rather than an isolated event. The majority want to be told their family origin as early and proactively as possible and expect to learn the reasons they were given up for adoption and taken in as adoptees. The disclosure does not necessarily influence the parent–child relationship, and adoptees care more about the positive experiences they had with adoptive parents in their childhood. Moreover, adopted children seek contact with their original family mostly to understand why they were given up for adoption. The effects of disclosure depend on how the adoptive parents or other significant people in the lives of adoptees interpret the identity of the adoptees. That is, their response and attitude toward the identity have a lasting impact on the adoptees. The study suggests that early disclosure gives adoptees a chance to internalize the experience in the process and find self-identification.

Keywords: adoption, adoptees, disclosure of family origins, parent–child relationship, self-identity

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Authors: Shirley S. Ho

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The advancement and development of social media have inadvertently brought about a new form of bullying – cyberbullying – that transcends across physical boundaries of space. Although extensive research has been conducted in the field of cyberbullying, most of these studies have taken an overwhelmingly empirical angle. Theories guiding cyberbullying research are few. Furthermore, very few studies have explored the association between parental mediation and cyberbullying, with majority of existing studies focusing on cyberbullying victimization rather than perpetration. Therefore, this present study investigates cyberbullying perpetration from a theoretical angle, with a focus on the Theory of Reasoned Action and the Parental Mediation Theory. More specifically, this study examines the direct effects of attitude, subjective norms, descriptive norms, injunctive norms and active mediation and restrictive mediation on cyberbullying perpetration on social media among children and adolescents in Singapore. Furthermore, the moderating role of age on the relationship between parental mediation and cyberbullying perpetration on social media are examined. A self-administered paper-and-pencil nationally-representative survey was conducted. Multi-stage cluster random sampling was used to ensure that schools from all the four (North, South, East, and West) regions of Singapore were equally represented in the sample used for the survey. In all 607 upper primary school children (i.e., Primary 4 to 6 students) and 782 secondary school adolescents participated in our survey. The total average response rates were 69.6% for student participation. An ordinary least squares hierarchical regression analysis was conducted to test the hypotheses and research questions. The results revealed that attitude and subjective norms were positively associated with cyberbullying perpetration on social media. Descriptive norms and injunctive norms were not found to be significantly associated with cyberbullying perpetration. The results also showed that both parental mediation strategies were negatively associated with cyberbullying perpetration on social media. Age was a significant moderator of both parental mediation strategies and cyberbullying perpetration. The negative relationship between active mediation and cyberbullying perpetration was found to be greater in the case of children than adolescents. Children who received high restrictive parental mediation were less likely to perform cyberbullying behaviors, while adolescents who received high restrictive parental mediation were more likely to be engaged in cyberbullying perpetration. The study reveals that parents should apply active mediation and restrictive mediation in different ways for children and adolescents when trying to prevent cyberbullying perpetration. The effectiveness of active parental mediation for reducing cyberbullying perpetration was more in the case of children than for adolescents. Younger children were found to be more likely to respond more positively toward restrictive parental mediation strategies, but in the case of adolescents, overly restrictive control was found to increase cyberbullying perpetration. Adolescents exhibited less cyberbullying behaviors when under low restrictive strategies. Findings highlight that the Theory of Reasoned Action and Parental Mediation Theory are promising frameworks to apply in the examination of cyberbullying perpetration. The findings that different parental mediation strategies had differing effectiveness, based on the children’s age, bring about several practical implications that may benefit educators and parents when addressing their children’s online risk.

Keywords: cyberbullying perpetration, theory of reasoned action, parental mediation, social media, Singapore

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Authors: Valerie Porr, Sydney A. DeCaro

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TARA for borderline personality disorder (BPD), an education and advocacy organization, helps families to compassionately and effectively deal with troubling BPD behaviors. Our psychoeducational programs focus on understanding underlying neurobiological features of BPD and evidence-based methodology integrating dialectical behavior therapy (DBT) and mentalization based therapy (MBT,) clarifying the inherent misunderstanding of BPD behaviors and improving family communication. TARA4BPD conducts online surveys, workshops, and topical webinars. For over 25 years, we have collected data from BPD helpline callers. This data drew our attention to particular childhood idiosyncrasies that seem to characterize many of the children who later met the criteria for BPD. The idiosyncrasies we observed, heightened sensory sensitivity and hypervigilance, were included in Adolf Stern’s 1938 definition of “Borderline.” This aspect of BPD has not been prioritized by personality disorder researchers, presently focused on emotion processing and social cognition in BPD. Parents described sleep reversal problems in infants who, early on, seem to exhibit dysregulation in circadian rhythm. Families describe children as supersensitive to sensory sensations, such as specific sounds, heightened sense of smell, taste, textures of foods, and an inability to tolerate various fabrics textures (i.e., seams in socks). They also exhibit high sensitivity to particular words and voice tones. Many have alexithymia and dyslexia. These children are either hypo- or hypersensitive to sensory sensations, including pain. Many suffer from fibromyalgia. BPD reactions to pain have been studied (C. Schmahl) and confirm the existence of hyper and hypo-reactions to pain stimuli in people with BPD. To date, there is little or no data regarding what comprises a normative range of sensitivity in infants and children. Many parents reported that their children were tested or treated for sensory processing disorder (SPD), learning disorders, and ADHD. SPD is not included in the DSM and is treated by occupational therapists. The overwhelming anecdotal data from thousands of parents of children who later met criteria for BPD led TARA4BPD to develop a sensitivity survey to develop evidence of the possible role of early sensory perception problems as a pre-cursor to BPD, hopefully initiating new directions in BPD research. At present, the research community seems unaware of the role supersensory sensitivity might play as an early indicator of BPD. Parents' observations of childhood sensitivity obtained through family interviews and results of an extensive online survey on sensory responses across various ages of development will be presented. People with BPD suffer from a sense of isolation and otherness that often results in later interpersonal difficulties. Early identification of supersensitive children while brain circuits are developing might decrease the development of social interaction deficits such as rejection sensitivity, self-referential processes, and negative bias, hallmarks of BPD, ultimately minimizing the maladaptive methods of coping with distress that characterizes BPD. Family experiences are an untapped resource for BPD research. It is hoped that this data will give family observations the critical credibility to inform future treatment and research directions.

Keywords: alexithymia, dyslexia, hypersensitivity, sensory processing disorder

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Authors: Lian Tong, Yan Ye, Qiong Yan

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Background: Children with attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) often experience sleep problems, but the comorbidity mechanism has not been sufficiently studied. This study aimed to determine the comorbidity of ADHD and sleep problems as well as the moderating effects of bedtime activities and depression/anxiety symptoms on the relationship between ADHD and sleep problems. Methods: We recruited 934 primary students from third to fifth grade and their parents by stratified random sampling from three primary schools in Shanghai, China. This study used parent-reported versions of the ADHD Rating Scale-IV, Children’s Sleep Habits Questionnaire, and Achenbach Child Behavior Checklist. We used hierarchical linear regression analysis to clarify the moderating effects of bedtime activities and depression/anxiety symptoms. Results: We found that children with more ADHD symptoms had shorter sleep durations and more sleep problems on weekdays. Screen time before bedtime strengthened the relationship between ADHD and sleep-disordered breathing. Children with more screen time were more likely to have sleep onset delay, while those with less screen time had more sleep onset problems with increasing ADHD symptoms. The high bedtime eating group experienced more night waking with increasing ADHD symptoms compared with the low bedtime eating group. Anxiety/depression exacerbated total sleep problems and further interacted with ADHD symptoms to predict sleep length and sleep duration problems. Conclusions: Bedtime activities and emotional problems had important moderating effects on the relationship between ADHD and sleep problems. These findings indicate that appropriate bedtime management and emotional management may reduce sleep problems and improve sleep duration for children with ADHD symptoms.

Keywords: ADHD, sleep problems, anxiety/depression, bedtime activities, children

Procedia PDF Downloads 183