Stress Factors in Families of Young Children with Exceptional Educational Needs

Abstract

Responses to the Questionnaire on Resources and Stress Short Form of mothers and fathers of young children with exceptional educational needs indicate that parents of children with serious health impairments view their children's 'patient problems' as more serious than parents of children with cerebral palsy, who in turn view their children's 'patient problems' as more serious than parents of children with Down's Syndrome. Parents of children with health impairments and cerebral palsy experience more 'physical limitations' than do parents of children with Down's Syndrome. Parents of children with health impairments are more likely to consider institutional care than parents of children with Down's Syndrome or cerebral palsy. Mothers, in general, experience more of a 'personal burden' than do fathers.