A Picture Is Worth a Thousand Words-Using Photovoice to Unravel the Caregiving Experiences of Parents of Children With Special Education Needs.
Cho Lee Wong, Dorothy Fung Ying Chan, Yuen Yu Chong and 3 others
PMID 41616016WHAT IT FOUND
Parents of children with special educational needs described pandemic confinement, lost therapy, and device addiction as lasting stress, while also finding new ways to support learning and family closeness.
They wanted ongoing counselling, respite, and clearer home-care guidance.
Key findings
01Parents described sustained worry about infection, feeling confined, problems with online learning, and exhaustion from combining work and caring for a child with SEN.
02Parents reported impacts that lasted beyond the pandemic, including changed family relationships, addictive electronic-device use, and slowed learning after training and therapy were reduced.
03Parents wanted stronger psychological support, respite and childcare services, clearer instructions, and age-appropriate materials to help their children's development.
STILL TO COME
How it was doneWhat they foundWhat it means for SLPs
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What it does not show
This was a small qualitative study of parents' experiences, so it cannot show whether any service or intervention worked. Most participants were mothers, and fathers were largely absent, so fathers' experiences are not represented. Many children had autism spectrum disorder, so parents of children with other special educational needs may have different experiences. Parents were recruited from a support group and Facebook page, which may not represent families without those connections. Four invited parents withdrew, so the final group may differ from families who could not take part.
Declared interests
The authors declared no conflicts of interest. The work was supported by the Nethersole Institute of Continuing Holistic Health Education Research Grant.
The easy way to misread this
Do not treat these themes as proof that pandemic restrictions, online learning, or photovoice improved outcomes. The study had 17 parents, mostly mothers, and reports experiences, not a controlled comparison.