Linton, Jane (2015) How does having a child with a profound or multiple disabilities affect the home / school relationship? Professional Doctorate thesis, Tavistock and Portman NHS Foundation Trust / University of Essex. Full text available

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Abstract

This study explored how having a child with a profound or multiple disability affects the home / school relationship in a multi-cultural Special School for Primary aged children. Research has highlighted the impact upon the family of having a disabled child in terms of coping strategies and how families with good and poor coping strategies differ. The purpose of the study was to consider how a model of systemic thinking called the Family illness systems model (Rolland 1994) might be used to understand the context in which a family might be operating, informing how the school might appropriately foster the home/school relationship. The study took a phenomenological approach using Interpretative Phenomenological Analysis (IPA) to explore the impact of having a disabled child upon the family; how this affects coping strategies of the parent, family functioning, and how this feeds into the expectations and experiences with school. 5 mothers were interviewed using semi-structured interviews. Interview data was analysed using IPA and three emerging superordinate themes emerged: ‘making sense of life changing events’, ‘impact on family dynamics’, ‘impact of a child needing a special school’. These findings were discussed in relation to relevant literature and the initial research questions. Strengths and limitations of the research were acknowledged. Finally the findings of the study were considered in relation to educational psychology practice and for further areas of research.

Item Type:	Thesis (Professional Doctorate)
Additional Information:	Thesis submitted in partial fulfilment of the requirements of the Doctorate in Child and Educational Psychology awarded by the Tavistock and Portman NHS Foundation Trust in collaboration with the University of Essex
Uncontrolled Keywords:	Professional Doctorate in Child and Educational Psychology, IPA
Subjects:	Families > Families - Psychology Learning & Education > Educational Psychology Learning & Education > Special Needs Education
Department/People:	Children, Young Adult and Family Services
URI:	https://repository.tavistockandportman.ac.uk/id/eprint/1440

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