Parental involvement in raising children with speech difficulties : a case study in a private pre-school in Selangor

Abstract

Many parents are not aware of their children’s speech and language developments. Indeed, some may not even have any knowledge about speech difficulties or disorders. Epstein’s parental involvement theory was used as a guideline to measure the level of parental involvement of participants in the present study. This case study investigated parents’ involvement in raising children with speech difficulties and educators’ views about language development and parental involvement. The aims of the study were to describe and explore patterns of involvement, level of understanding and practices, as well as challenges faced by parents from one private pre-school in Selangor. A total of nine structured interviews were carried out on three parents whose children had been referred to speech and language therapy sessions. In addition to this, a group interview on three educators was conducted to support the findings. All three educators from the same pre-school were gathered to discuss the level of parental involvement in raising children with speech difficulties. All of the parents and educators explained strategies used to handle the children, specifically to develop language growth. The data collected was analysed and three major themes emerged; parents preparation in taking children with speech difficulties to pre-school, parents’ practices in raising children with speech difficulties and challenges in handling children with speech difficulties. The results reported that early identification of a child’s disability was crucial and children should be treated at early stages, before taking them to pre-school. Moreover, parents and educators also placed an emphasis on the children’s independency in managing themselves. It is hoped that this study will provide insight for other parents who are raising children with speech difficulties.