EDITED Chapters 1 3

Parañaque National High School-Main
Towards Academic Excellence and Value Formation

Parañaque City
A Phenomenological Study of the Challenges and Coping
Strategies Faced by Parents of Children Aged 5 to15
With Learning Disabilities
A Qualitative Research Paper Presented to
The English Department of
Parañaque National High School-Main , Parañaque City
In Partial Fulfillment of the
Requirements for the Subjects
Practical Research 1 – Qualitative
Submitted By:
Grade 11 – HUMSS-Amorsolo
Valencia, Sophia Venshi S.
March 2020
A Phenomenological Study of the Challenges and CopingStrategies Faced by Parents
of Children Aged 5 to 15With Learning Disabilities
Table of Contents
I. Acknowledgment……………………………………………………………………..i-ii
II. Chapter 1 – The Problem and its Setting…………………………………………….1 - 5
A, Introduction ……………………………………………………………….....1 - 2
B. Statement of the Problem ...…….…………………………………………… 3
C. Significance of the Study ...…….……………………………………………3
D. Conceptual Framework ...…….……………………………….…………...... 4 - 5
E. Definition of Terms ...…….…………………………………………………. 5
III. Chapter 2 – Review of Related Literature ...…….…………………………………6 - 19
A. Relationship of Parents and their Child with Learning Disabilities…………7 - 8
B.Challenges Faced by Parents of Children with Learning Disabilities………. 8 - 13
C. Coping Strategies Used by Parents of Children with Learning Disabilities…14 - 18

D. Synthesis and Justification of the Study…………………………………….. 18 - 19
IV. Chapter 3 – Methodology…………………………………………………………...20 - 25
A. Research Design………………………………………………………………20
B. Respondents and Sampling……………………………………………………20 - 22
C. Data Collection Technique…………………………………………………….22 - 24
D. Data Gathering Procedures…………………………………………………….25
E. Ethical Considerations…………………………………………………………25
V. Bibliography………………………………………………………………………...47 - 49
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A Phenomenological Study of the Challenges and CopingStrategies Faced by Parents of Children
Aged 5 to 15With Learning Disabilities
Acknowledgement
First of all, we thank God for guiding us in creating our research and keeping us
motivated to finish our study. Surpassing all the challenges and hardships that we encountered,
we are able to accomplish our task with His guidance and presence.
We would also like to thank Paranaque National High School for making our study
possible. Without the Practical Research I subject, we would not be able to conduct a study that
would increase and enhance our knowledge about our topic, children with learning disabilities.
We would like to express our deepest gratitude to our respondents, the parents of children
with learning disabilities, for participating and cooperating throughout our study. Being able to
know their experiences and feelings is a great honor for us. Hearing their thoughts developed and
molded our perspectives, personalities and attitudes to the children with learning disabilities. We
were also able to know and realize the standpoint of parents of children with learning disabilities.
Without these parents, we would not be able to augment our wisdom and understanding about
the sacrifices and serious experiences of these parents.
We are also grateful for our thesis teacher, Mr. Gerfel O. Chan, for sharing his
knowledge in research through teaching. We also appreciate her sincere patience and endurance
as we write and put an end to our study. Giving her full attention and guidance serves as an
instrument for us to have an ingenious research and through her help, we achieved a satisfactory
result.
Our fervent gratitude goes to Mr. Jonel Joshua Rosales and Ms. TriciaLuna for being our
panel who recommended the possible changes that would improve our study. We acquired our
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expected revisions by their reminders and advices which we followed and gave our full trust in
order to have a better output.
Our solemn thanks would also go to Mr. Dean Nelson Mina and Ms. Eliz Nellas for
sacrificing their time to support and assist in our study. We also acknowledge their skills and
talent that helped us to gain more information and learning about research.
Lastly, we would also like to acknowledge ourselves for giving all of our time and effort
and the dedication of each member to complete our study. All the sleepless nights became
worthy and led to a trivial thing for we obtained a successful outcome.
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iv
A Phenomenological Study of the Challenges and CopingStrategies Faced by Parents
of Children Aged 5 to 15With Learning Disabilities
Chapter 1
The Problem and its Setting
A. Introduction
Parents of a mentally challenged child face a uniquely challenging lifestyle. Each parent
has a great role in the growth of their children. As the children pass through their developmental
stages, they look up to their parents for guidance or support in the things that they pursue. This
results to a very special bond or relationship that can only be found between parents and their
children. There are a number of factors that affect how parent-child relationships develop such as
the characteristics of children, the parenting style, as well as other external factors (Hall &
Tederera, 2017). These factors, when combined together, make up how a child turns out to be as
they mature and grow older.
Parents and children face a lot of challenges and difficulties in their relationship.
However, when the child requires special needs, more time and effort must be exerted. Children
who require special needs are those who struggle with comprehension to a greater extent than the
average child (Abosi, 2008). According to Hall and Tederera (2017), "Parenting children with
learning disabilities requires a high level of knowledge and access to resources, information and
services." When parents first find out about the condition of their child, there starts their journey
full of challenges, strong emotions, hard decisions, and constant trips to specialists.
There are several learning disabilities which lead to a variety of learning problems.
Simply put, children and adults with learning disabilities see, hear, and understand things
differently. This can lead to trouble with learning new information and skills, and putting them to
use (Kemp, Smith, & Segal, 2017). As stated by Kemp, Smith, and Segal (2017), learning
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disabilities can pertain to a number of different disorders and these are: dyslexia, dyscalculia,
dysgraphia, dyspraxia, dysphasia/aphasia, auditory processing disorder, and visual processing
disorder. Though not entirely learning disabilities, ADHD and autism spectrum disorders have
the ability to disrupt a child's learning potential.Similarly, developmental delays, specifically
global developmental delays, also impede the potential of a child to learn (Morin, 2016). Some
children are diagnosed with more than one learning disability thus requiring more needs because
of these disabilities.
It is important to remember that children with learning disabilitieshave a long-term
impact on their parents. Even parents,who appear to be strong and competent, experience a wide
range of emotions that maybe hard to understand unless a person has had similar experiences.
The data that have been gathered are from the parents' unique knowledge of their child and how
they value their experiences of managing their child's condition. These parents experience
challenges day by day. In this study, the researchers would explore the difficulties these parents
face and the coping strategies they used to overcome these difficulties.
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B. Statement of the Problem
In this research, the researchers aim to explore the challenges faced by parents of children
with learning disabilities and the coping strategies they used for them to overcome these
challenges.
In relation to this, this study aims to shed light to the following research questions:
1. What are the challenges faced by parents of childrenwith learning disabilities?
2. How do the parents of children with learning disabilitiescope with the challenges
that they face?
3. How do the parents of children with learning disabilitiesdescribe their overall
experience in taking care of their children?
C. Significance of the Study
To the parents of children with learning disabilities this study helps them to discover and
know other possible coping strategies for the different challenges that they encounter.
To the teachers who supervise children with learning disabilitieshis study helps them learn
and know how to handle these children as they interact with then in the school setting.
To STEM students, especially to those who are interested in choosing a career related to
Medicine, this study can be a guide on how they can handle children with learning disabilities.
To the future researchers, this study may serve as a motivation for future researchers to spread
awareness on the importance of this issue and to further conduct studies that dive deeper on this
specific topic.
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D. Conceptual Framework
In the study of the researchers, certain variables are required in order to be able to gather
the results or data needed by the study. In between these, the processes are done as the method of
analyzing the data collected. Figure 1 shows how the researchers are able to gather the needed
data.
Figure 1 – Paradigm of the Study
g Outputs
Inputs Processes
1. Profile of children 1. Description of the 1. Better

with learning profile of children understanding about
with learning
disabilities the challenges and
disabilities
coping strategies faced
1. Profile of parents 2. Description of
by parents who have
that have children with parents’ profile that
have childrenwith children with learning
learning disabilities
learning disabilities disabilities
2. Challenges of 3. Analysis of the
Parents experiences,
challenges and coping
strategies of parents
that have children with
learning disabilities.
In doing a research, variables are required. The inputs or independent variables of the
study are the profile of the parents and their children as well as their challenges. After using the
inputs to gather the needed data, processes are applied. Both profiles are described by the
researchers to be able to get a better understanding and the data collected are analyzed and
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interpreted. After the processes, the researchers are able to identify the results of their study
which are the outputs or dependent variables. A better understanding of the challenges and
coping strategies by parents of children with learning disabilities is essential to shed light to the
research questions of the study.
E. Definition of Terms
 Difficult – an objective point of view of the situations that cause hardships and problems
to the parents of children with learning disabilities; what’s difficult for one parent is
difficult for all of the parents.
 Challenging – a subjective point of view of the situations that cause hardships and
problems to the parents of children with learning disabilities; what’s challenging for one
parent may not be challenging to another parent.
 Coping Strategies – difficulties that have been surpassed by parents with children with
learning disabilities
 Learning Disability – a condition of a child that causes difficulties in acquiring
knowledge and skills.
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Chapter 2
Review of Related Literature
A learning disability is a neurological disorder. In simple terms, a learning disability
results from a difference in the way a person's brain is "wired." Children with learning
disabilities are smarter than their peers. But they may have difficulty reading, writing, spelling,
and reasoning, recalling and/or organizing information if left to figure things out by them or if
taught in conventional ways (Rosales, 2011).
A learning disability can't be cured or fixed; it is a lifelong issue. With the right support
and intervention, however, children with learning disabilities can succeed in school and go on to
successful, often distinguished careers later in life.
Parents can help children with learning disabilities achieve such success by encouraging
their strengths, knowing their weaknesses, understanding the educational system, working with
professionals and learning about strategies for dealing with specific difficulties. (Samson, 2008)
The learning disabilities have different effects to children. Attention-deficit/hyperactivity
disorder (ADHD) is a brain disorder marked by an ongoing pattern of inattention and/or
hyperactivity-impulsivity that interferes with functioning or development (“Attention Deficit
Hyperactivity Disorder,” 2016). As stated by Morin (2016), “A global developmental delay is
when kids have delays in at least two areas.Kids develop skills in five main areas of development
which are cognitive (or thinking) skills, social and emotional skills, speech and language skills,
fine and gross motor skills, and activities of daily living.” Autism spectrum disorder (ASD) is a
neurological and developmental disorder that begins early in childhood and lasts throughout a
person's life. It affects how a person acts and interacts with others, communicates, and learns. It
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includes what used to be known as Asperger syndrome and pervasive developmental
disorders(“Autism Spectrum Disorder,” 2017). These learning disabilities may be diagnosed in
one child. When such a situation happens, the effects are significantly worse than those with a
single learning disability. A child diagnosed with both autism and global developmental delay
experiences lag in areas of development as well as a different sense of interaction with others.
According to Martin and Colbert (2009), and Turnbull and Blacher-Dixon (2010), shock,
denial, anddisbelief are common reactions to the sudden or unexpected discovery that a child has
a disability. This painful process of loss often results in an emotional roller coaster where
feelings of anger, depression, denial, grief, guilt, physical distress, resentment, and sadness are
not uncommon (Gabel et al., 2008; Martin & Colbert, 2009; McCubbin et al., 2011).
Relationship of Parents and their Child with Learning Disabilities
Having a child with disability is a major event that negatively affects families, and force
families to re-evaluate its plans, goals, and relationships in light of restrictions and limitations
associated with the child’s disability, and the results are stress in parents, and their efficiency in
coping with these challenges. When parents learn that their child needs special needs, ‘they begin
a journey that takes them into a life that is often filled with strong emotions and difficult choices.
Flack (2009) mentions inherent difficulties in defining learning disabilities, but presents ‘learners
with special educational needs’ and what she describes as ‘the more in vogue, learners with
barriers to learning’ as possible definitions and a child who experience learning challenges
without presenting with obvious physical disabilities and who struggle with comprehension to a
greater extent than the average child (Abosi, 2008).
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Parents of children with special needs tend to be faced with a continuous barrage of
challenges from societal isolation, financial strain, difficulty finding resources to outright
exhaustion or feelings of confusion or burn out. Over time, if these circumstances are not
addressed and relief is not found a cognitive, sometimes, biological change may start to take
place. Having a special needs child brings with it many of the typical joys of parenting, but let’s
not trick ourselves into believing that there aren’t major drawbacks for the parents.
According to Skotko, Levine and Goldstein (2011), the majority of parents with children
diagnosed with Down Syndrome report that they are happy with their decision to indicate that
their son and daughters are great sources of love and pride. Those parents who did express regret
were more likely to have children with greater perceived health problemsand learning
difficulties. Nickels (2010), on the other hand, stated that special children are innocent, kind
persons, couldn’t be mean and it just make the parents hopeful.
Challenges Faced by Parents of Children with Learning Disabilities
To begin, there is no strict or clear definition of what it means for a child to have “special
needs.” Many people think of special needs as necessarily involving a serious or chronic medical
condition. When it comes to these parents, it is clear that the additional demands on parents of
chronically ill children cause stress that affects the whole family (Cousino et al., 2013).
However, chronic illnesses are not the only type of special needs that children have. According
to Gallagher and Whiteley (2012), levels of stress in parents of children with disabilities are
determined by: 1. Characteristics of the child with disability which include type and/or severe of
disability, child’s independency, age, and visibility of disability. 2. Parents and family
characteristics such as social-economical level, personality traits, past experiences, age,
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education, career, income level, perceptions about disability, and beliefs about ability to affect
the development of child. 3. Family structure such as demographic characteristics such as rank of
the child with disability, siblings, and the presence of other disabilities in family. 4. Social
factors such as attitudes in society toward disability, and availability of services to individuals
with disability.
Despite the fact that both parents showed high levels of stress, Wang, Michaels, and Day
(2011) indicated in their study that mothers of children with disabilities showed higher levels of
stress when compared to fathers, as mothers are primary care giver of the child. Parents, in
return, might provide care and their efforts act as supportive role to their children. These findings
emerged in results of a particular study which showed that mental health and life well-being in
fathers of autistic children are not negatively affected to the same degree as mothers (Jones, et
al., 2013).In Benson and Karlof’s study (2009), the results showed that mothers of children with
autism showed higher levels of depression and mood disorders than fathers.Lastly, Sen and
Yurtsever (2013) stated that the findings indicated similar results for mothers and fathers of
children with disabilities in general.
A study by Lim (2013) stated that all parents worry about their children’s development;
however, for special needs parents, this worry is far greater than the parents of children who do
not have special needs. A study of Wang, Michaels, & Day (2011), indicated that negative
attitudes of society members toward individuals with disabilities increases levels of stress in
those individuals and their parents. Dempsey, et al. (2008) and Gallagher, et al., (2008) also
proposed that parents’ perception about their capacity raising their child with disability act as a
crucial role in levels of stress. (Woodman, & Hauser, 2013) also indicated that levels of stress in
parents tend to increase alongside with child growing, as the gap between disabled and non-
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disabled children become more obvious. (Glidden, 2012, pp 311) indicated that lack of
specialized professional support, negative stigma, and fear from future of the child are major
determinants of stress in parents.
Parents are defined as persons who are in custody of and take a series of actions to
promote the development of a child (Musweu 2009). Parenting is therefore the process of
promoting and supporting the physical, emotional, social, spiritual and intellectual development
of a child from infancy to adulthood (Mumbuna 2010). Parenting is hard for anyone. For special
needs parents, however, it can be even harder. Autism, down syndrome, sensory processing
disorder, muscular dystrophy; those are just a handful of the special needs that children can face.
While parents of special needs children love their little ones just as much as those who are
parents to typically developing children, the struggles they face are exponentially more
challenging than the average parent (Galbreath, 2014). Harper et al. (2013) point out that there
are wide-ranging challenges that are integral to parenting a child with learning disability.
Children with learning disabilities generally require more attention because they may have
additional needs when compared to nondisabled children (VanPelt 2013).
Grobler (2012) mentions that parents of children with learning disability may experience
constant subjection to a guilty feeling that they may be directly responsible for the disability
through genetics, stressful moments while pregnant or abuse of alcohol. A study conducted in the
USA by Resch et al. (2010) revealed that because of increased parental responsibilities, parents
of children with learning disability can be at a high risk of experiencing depression, physical
health problems and decreased quality of life. Understanding the beliefs and myths about
parenting further helps to explain why parents of children with disabilities are engulfed with
emotional stress.
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Mueller, et al. (2014) stated, “ADHD/I has been frequently linked to symptoms such as,
daydreaming, staring, mental fogginess, confusion, hypoactivity, sluggish or slow movement,
lethargy, apathy and sleepiness. It is striking that the mentioned symptoms are very similar to
items currently used in the measurement of SCT. In line with this, 30 to 50% of the children
diagnosed with ADHD/I have been shown to present with increased levels of symptoms that
emerged under the label SCT. Based on the observation that approximately twice as many
school-aged children are nowadays diagnosed with ADHD/I in contrast to ADHD/HI and
ADHD/I’s strong association with SCT, there is a need for a thorough definition of SCT’s
cascading effects on individuals’ functioning.”
The longer we’re exposed to stress or negative emotions and thinking, the less able we
become at coping with those feelings. What may have started out as merely occasional, typical
reactions to overwhelming circumstances becomes a day to day struggle to function and handle
life as it comes. Symptoms of depression may not necessarily signify a diagnosis of depression,
but it definitely should be a red flag. The most challenging step of helping parents of children
with special needs deal with depression is first helping them recognize the signs of depression
and identify their own symptoms. The second most challenging step is helping parents begin to
change their behaviors and thought processes that are perpetuating the symptoms and may lead
to actual depression (“Depression in Parents of Children with Special Needs: How to Recognize
the Symptoms and Signs,”n.d.).
According to Smith (2009), children and adults with learning disabilities often have
clusters of difficulties that lead to academic failure or low achievement. These disabilities
emanate from a neurophysiological base. It is as though the switchboard of the brain short
circuits some of the information coming in, scrambles it, and then loose wires interfere with the
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ability to get that information out. This neurological dysfunction contributes to disorder,
disorganization, and problems with communication. Parents can be reassured that these problems
are organic and are not caused by external factors.
As stated by Sigelman (2008), children of permissive parents were often impulsive and
aggressive, especially if they were boys. They tended to be bossy and self centred, rebellious,
lacking in self control, rather aimless and quite low in independence and
achievement. Subsequent research has shown that the worst developmental outcomes were
associated with a neglectful, uninvolved style of parenting. Children of neglectful parents are
notable for behavioural problems such as aggression and frequent temper tantrums as early as
age three. They have a tendency to become hostile and antisocial in adolescents. Berk (2008)
added, children of permissive parents were very immature. They had difficulty controlling their
impulses and were disobedient and rebellious when asked to do something that conflicted with
their momentary desires. They were also overly demanding and dependent on adults, and they
showed less persistence on tasks at preschool than children whose parents exerted more control.
The link between permissive parenting and dependent, non-achieving behaviour was especially
strong for boys.
By school age, children with less severe Autism Sprectum Disorder tend to show their
feelings in a similar way to typically developing children, but can find it hard to describe their
feelings. They might say that they don’t feel a particular emotion. At the same age, many
children with more severe Autism Sprectum Disorder seem to have less emotional expression
than typically developing children.It might look like children with Autism Sprectum
Disorderdon’t respond emotionally, or their emotional responses might sometimes seem over the
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top – for example, they might get very angry very quickly (“Emotional Development in Children
with Autism Spectrum Disorder”, 2017).
Bollard (2017) stated that there is a lot of research which says that between 60 and 80%
of all communication is nonverbal, and I suspect that if we confined that research to only the
communication of empathy and emotion, that figure would be much higher. It’s clear then that
the problems of interpretation play a very important factor in the emotional bond between
parents and children on the spectrum.
Morin (2016) mentioned that, “In 2010, one study asked people what they think about
LD. More than half said they believe Learning Disability is the result of laziness. Tai and Hui
(2016), on the other hand, reported that, “Much social stigma still blights people with hidden
disabilities such as autism, where a child's behaviour may be mistaken for naughtiness, as one
MP found out. Insight reports.” Ms Chia also gave this moving first-person account of what life
is like for a person with a less visible disability: "We hope for you to be accommodating when
we make strange, loud noises. We can't control our muscles... Be kind to my parents when I
throw tantrums. It is not because they did not teach me well. I simply cannot comprehend my
external environment."
Coping Strategies Used by Parents of Children with Learning Disabilities
According to Picci, et al.(2015), parents of children with disabilities tend to use various
strategies to cope stress such as, looking for support, avoidance strategies, self-blame, drug
abuse, making jokes, reconstruction of stressful situation in positive manner, or denial. Taanila,
et al.(2012) referred to avoidance strategies and self-blame as coping strategies, while other
parents tend to search for positive issues in caring the child with disability such as religious
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attitudes, which are considered as an important coping strategy. Variation in the use of coping
strategies is correlated to many factors (Woodman& Hauser, 2013). Wang, Michaels,
&Day(2011) indicated that parents tend to use emotional-focused and avoidance strategies in
early stages of diagnosing disability, and as the child grows, parents tend to use problem-focused
strategies.
This variation in coping strategies was found also between fathers and mothers, the
results of various studies indicated that mothers of children with disabilities were looking for
social support and concerned more about emotions, while fathers, in return, tend to use
avoidance and problem-focused strategies(Seymour, et al., 2013; Hartley, et al., 2012; Glidden,
&Natcher, 2009). Understanding strategies used by parents to cope with stress of caring child
with disability is considered as a major component of psycho-social support programs, especially
if the researchers knew that the parents depend on negative strategies to cope with stress, levels
of stress might be increased, in other words, different levels of stress in parents of children with
disabilities means different strategies of coping they use (Singer, et al., 2013).
Keller and Honig (2004) found that for fathers, acceptance of the child with the disability
and family harmony reduced stress. While mothers were also affected by family harmony, lower
socioeconomic status and greater care demands predicted stress. According to Smith (n.d.),
whenever your feelings are painful, you must reach out and contact someone. Call or write or get
into your car and contact a real person who will talk with you and share that pain. Pain divided is
not nearly so hard to bear as is pain in isolation. Sometimes professional counseling is warranted;
if you feel that this might help you, do not be reluctant to seek this avenue of assistance. In times
of stress, each person reacts in his or her own way. A few universal recommendations may help:
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Get sufficient rest; eat as well as you can; take time for yourself; reach out to others for
emotional support.
Taunt and Hastings (2012) found that parents with positive attitudes envisioned positive
outcomes for their child. Parents reported the more positive they were, the more sensitive and
caring the entire family was towards the child with the disability. Family members sought out
more opportunities to learn about the condition affecting their child/sibling along with the impact
of their perspective on life.
Dun, Burbine, Bowers and Tantleff- Dun (2011) conducted a study that examined stress
level and coping styles of parents who had children with autism. Dun et al (2011)., defined
escape avoidance behavior coping strategies as actions that parents take to avoid any support
system and using escape as a way of dealing with stress. Positive reappraisal coping strategies
where defined as a parents seeking new faith, growth, or self-discovery. Reappraisal coping
strategies include: hoping for miracles, having fantasies etc.
Kenny and McGilloway (2008) conducted a study on parents of children with learning
disabilities. Kenny and McGilloway found that 2/3 of the participants used professional support
to help cope with the stress of raising a child with a disability and that most of the participants
reported that receiving information at the time of the initial diagnosis of their child would have
helped them cope more effectively. The participants also reported that receiving support from the
school their attended helped them cope more effective. Clearly, external sources of support are
critical to parental coping when raising a child with a disability.
Churchill, Villareale, Monaghan, Sharp and Kieckhefer (2010) conducted a study to
examine how they coped with having a child with a learning disability. Depressive symptoms,
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coping skills, and the child’s medical condition were assessed. Reframing was operationalized as
looking at problems parents face from the viewpoint of being positive and accepting. Passive
appraisal referred to not taking immediate action on any certain problem the parents may have
been dealing with. Findings showed that the better coping skills like social support, reframing,
spiritual support, accepting help and passive appraisal meant fewer depressive symptoms for the
participants.
The benefits of discipline are the same whether kids have special needs or not. In fact,
kids who have trouble learning respond very well to discipline and structure. But for this to
work, parents have to make discipline a priority and be consistent (Hirsch, 2015).Although
autism can be exhausting physically, mentally and emotionally because of the many layers and
complexity of the condition, it is important that parents find ways to connect with their child in a
meaningful way. Love and patience is needed. Fortunately, there are many ways to show these
attributes through words and actions (“Importance of Love and Patience,” 2011).According to
Kemp, Smith, and Segal(2017), “Perseverance is the drive to keep going despite challenges and
failures, and the flexibility to change plans if things aren’t working. Children (or adults) with
learning disabilities may need to work harder and longer because of their disability.”
In order to problem solve effectively, family members must regulate hostility, disclose
openly, support and validate each other, and generate new ideas and solutions to family problems
(Alexander, Waldron, Robbins, & Neeb, 2013).The findings suggested that these families
experience unique challenges, but generally adapt to their circumstances without resorting to
negative or ineffective styles of relating.
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According to Livingston (2010), many students affected by AD/HD find the chance to
build something appealing. Students who may have trouble with abstract concepts can grasp,
literally, new ideas and fine motor skills when they work with their hands. They have the
opportunity to be loud and pound, drill or mold with clay in a supervised setting. Many kids on
the autism spectrum like to build and put things together. Clubs require teamwork to solve
problems.Many students affected by AD/HD find the chance to build something appealing.
Students who may have trouble with abstract concepts can grasp, literally, new ideas and fine
motor skills when they work with their hands. Many young people enjoy video games that offer
high stimulation. In a club setting, students can work cooperatively and have the chance to share
information on various games. Many young people affected by AD/HD have found a good mix
of excitement and action in various school sports. They meet new friends and work within a
structured system with personal opportunities to succeed and the common goal of winning.”
According to the article “Physical activities for children with disabilities” (n.d.), the
number one factor in choosing appropriate activities for children with disabilities should be fun.
Any activity chosen for your child, either by you, your child, or as a group, should offer varying
degrees of fun. The primary reason that children participate in sports is fun, and the key reason
they quit is a lack of fun. Community-based programs that offer activities for children with
disabilities can provide suggestions to help both you and your child select the most appropriate
activities for your child’s interests and goals. NCPAD offers a programs database that lists
physical activity-related programs throughout the nation that offer opportunities for people with
disabilities.
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C. Synthesis and Justification of the Study
This review of related literature has revealed that there are challenges that a parent faces
when his or her child has Learning Disabilities. According to Bawalsah (2016), these challenges
are the financial strain. Life well-being of parents of children with disability would be negatively
affected, as they realize by time the everlasting dependency of the child, and feelings of isolation
and rejection from society (Hauser, et al., 2009). Glidden (2012) indicated that lack of
specialized professional support, negative stigma, and fear from future of the child are major
determinants of stress in parents. The family structure as well as the parents and family
characteristics such as social-economical level, personality traits, past experiences, education,
career, income level, and beliefs about the ability to affect the development of child, type and
severity of disability, child’s independency, age, andchild’s perceptions about his/her disability,
characteristics of the child with disability, physical health problems, demographic characteristics,
rank of the child with disability, siblings, and the presence of other disabilities in the family are
also part of these challenges (Gallagher & Whiteley, 2012). The negative psychological effects
of having a child with disability emerged in the results of many studies (Picci, et al., 2015;
Woodman, & Hauser, 2013; Wang, Michaels, & Day, 2011, Dukmak, 2009) which all indicated
low self-esteem, and high levels of emotional stress and depression in families of children with
disability, especially when compared to families of non-disabled children.
These factors play a vital and crucial role in a parent. According to (Picci, et al., 2015),
parents of children with disabilities tend to use various strategies to cope stress such as, looking
for support, avoidance strategies, self-blame, drug abuse, making jokes, reconstruction of
stressful situation in positive manner, or denial. Avoidance strategies and self-blame are coping
strategies of other parents, while other parents tend to search for positive issues in caring the
18
child with disability such as religious attitudes, which are considered as an important coping
strategy in Jordan(Taanila, et al., 2012). Parents tend to use emotional-focused and avoidance
strategies in early stages of diagnosing disability, and as the child grows, parents tend to use
problem-focused strategies(Woodman, & Hauser, 2013; Wang, Michaels, & Day, 2011).
The researchers’literature reviewhas given them a lot of information and ideas about the
challenges and coping strategies of parents with children with learning disabilities. Through
this,the researchers learned that it is really hard as a parent when your child has disability.
The literature review that the researchers have is an integral part of their thesis. The basis
for everything: their data, what they expected to get, their interview, etc. is within the literature
review. The literature review basically gave them an idea of what they could get as a conclusion
and as a result in their thesis. It helped them foresee the results in their study because it gave
them thorough explanations of what the challenges and coping strategies are of a parent with
children with learning disabilities. Through literature review, they were able to narrow down the
possible challenges and coping strategies. The literature review made their research easier and
faster since without these studies, these past literatures, they would have had a hard time creating
their thesis without basis.
19
Chapter 3
Methodology
A.Research Design
The researchers used phenomenology as the qualitative approach for the study. As stated
by Van Manen (2013), "A phenomenological research study is a study that attempts to
understand people's perceptions, perspectives and understandings of a particular situation (or
phenomenon)."
The researchers chose this particular qualitative approach because it is the most
appropriate to use for the topic of the study. The topic is mainly about the experiences of the
parents with children with learning disabilities. In utilizing this specific qualitative approach, the
researchers would be able to explore the parents' insights, perceptions, and understanding of this
particular experience. The process of gathering data through phenomenology is through
interviews. The best way to allow the parents to be able to freely describe their experiences,
challenges and their coping strategies is through conducting interviews.
B. Respondents and Sampling
The participants of the study were the parents of male and female children with learning
disabilities aging from 5 to 15 years old. Only a specific parent or both parents of a single child
were taken as respondents. Additionally, the respondents currently live in Doña Manuela
Subdivision, Pamplona 3, fLas Piñas City, Metro Manila.
20
Table 1: Profile of the Participants
PARTICIPANT PSEUDONYM CHILD

1 Mother A Daughter A
2 Mother B Son A
3 Mother C Daughter B
4 Mother D Son B
5 Father A Son A
“A purposive sample is a non-probability sample that is selected based on characteristics
of a population and the objective of the study. Purposive sampling is also known as judgmental,
selective, or subjective sampling" (Villarez, 2010).
The researchers used purposive sampling because they believed that using this sampling
technique would gather needed information that would fulfill the necessary data in the study.
Since the participants are the parents who have children with learning disabilities, only they can
answer the questions related to the particular experiences.
The coverage of the study focuses on the difficulties and coping strategies of parents who
have children that require special needs. The study limits the respondents to one parent or both
parents of a child with a learning disability. The parents compose of four mothers and one father
of children with learning disabilities. The individual father and one of the mothers are married
and are both parents of a single child. The children compose of two males and two females
ranging from the age of 5 to 15 years old for them to be compatible with the study. The
researchers’respondents live in Doña Manuela Subdivision, Pamplona 3, Las Piñas City, Metro
Manila. The researchers believe that the said respondents would be able to provide the necessary
21
information for the study. The data has been gathered through conducting an interview with
either or both of the parents of the child.
The study that was conducted provided benefits to the researchers in various ways.
Firstly, this study is capable of further expanding the knowledge the researchers have about this
particular topic. It is also beneficial to those who are interested in pursuing a medical career as
the information gathered from this study will prove useful later on. Lastly,the researchers were
able to address the gained data from this study to other people who can utilize this information.
Through this, not only would the researchers be able to benefit from this study but also a number
of people and organization that was described under significance of the study. The researchers,
which are STEM (Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics) students, chose this
study because some members of the research group aspire to pursue a career in the medical field.
The study falls under Science which is one of the significant components of the STEM strand.
C. Data Collection Technique
The data collection technique that the researchers used was interview. The type of
interview the researchers used was formal or structured and semi-structured interview. The
researchers interviewed the parents about their experiences in handling their children withspecial
needs, the challenges they encountered with them, as well as the coping strategies they used to
overcome these difficulties.
22
Interview Questions
These were the questions that were prepared by the researchers to the respondents which
were the parents of children with learning disabilities. In these interview questions, the
researchers would be able to gather the data needed for the study.
1. What is your name and age?
2. Are you married?
3. What is your profession?
4. What is the name of your child with learning disability?
5. How old is your child?
6. Are you the one who is taking care of your child?
7. Where does your child study and what grade level does she/he belong to?
8. How do you guide or help your child in his/her studies?
9. How did you discover that your child has learning disability?
10. Have you consulted a specialist about this?
11. What was the diagnosis of the doctor?
12. What did you feel when your child was diagnosedwith learning disability?
13. What problems do you face in taking care of your child?
14. As a parent, how do you cope with the challenges you have encountered in having a
child with learning disabilities?
15. What are the most challenging experiences that you have encountered with your
child?
16. What do you do to keep your child busy for you to continue doing your other
plans/chores?
23
17. What do you feel when your child shows love and affection to you?
18. What activities do you do to bond with your child?
19. What can you say about your overall experience in taking care of your child with
learning disability?
20. What tips and recommendation can you give to the parents who are facing the same
situation as yours?
24
D. Data Gathering Procedures
1. The researchers formulated 20 interview questions and asked their thesis teacher for consent.A
consent form was signed by the teacher and principal and given to the participants.
2. After gaining consent from their thesis teacher, the researchers notified the respondents on the
time and place the interview would be conducted.
3. The researchers met the interviewees and conducted the interview questions.
4. The researchers used a camera, mobile phones for them to record, and created a
documentation of the entire interview. The interview took 30 minutes to 1 hour.
5. The researchers gathered the data needed for the study, analyzed them, and encoded them into
their study.
E. Ethical Considerations
Ethics is extremely needed in research so the researchers made sure that their study
would not violate any research ethics. The researchers are honest in how they reported the data,
results, methods, and procedures. The researchers did not fabricate any data. They showed their
integrity by keeping their agreements between the respondents. The researchers respected their
respondents by protecting confidential communications and personal records through the use of
pseudonyms. Their study was critically examined. They made sure that there were no
grammatical errors and misspelled words. Every data collected from the work of others was
properly cited. There was no act of plagiarism in this study and they ensured that they obeyed the
laws, institutional, and governmental policies.
25
Bibliography
Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder. (2016, March). Retrieved from:

https://www.nimh.nih.gov/health/topics/attention-deficit-hyperactivity-disorder-
adhd/index.shtml
Autism Spectrum Disorder. (2017, December 11). Retrieved from
https://medlineplus.gov/autismspectrumdisorder.html
Bawalsah, J. A. (2016, February). Stress and Coping Strategies in Parents of Children with
Physical, Mental, and Hearing Disabilities in Jordan. Retrieved
fromhttps://www.researchgate.net/publication/301247076_Stress_and_Coping_Strategies
_in_Parents_of_Children_with_Physical_Mental_and_Hearing_Disabilities_in_Jordan
Bollard, G. (2017). Emotional interpretation of children with special needs. Retrieved from
http://special-ism.com/emotional-interpretation-with-children-on-the-spectrum/
Cousino, M. K., & Hazen, R. A. (2013, July 10). Parenting stress among caregivers of children
with chronic illness: A systematic review. Retrieved from
https://academic.oup.com/jpepsy/article/38/8/809/919245
Depression in parents of children with special needs: How to recognize the symptoms and signs.
(n.d.). Retrieved from https://www.special-learning.com/article/depression
Emotional development in children with autism spectrum disorder. (2017). Retrieved from
http://raisingchildren.net.au/articles/autism_spectrum_disorder_emotional_development.
html
Floyd, F. J. & Olsen, D.L. (2017). Family-peer linkages for children with intellectual disability
and children with learning disabilities. Retrieved from
https://doi.org/10.1016/j.appdev.2017.08.001
Galbreath, B. (2017, July 1). 12 Heartbreaking Struggles Of Being A Special Needs Parent.
Retrieved from https://www.babygaga.com/12-heartbreaking-struggles-of-being-a-
special-needs-parent/
Hirsch, L. (2015, September). Disciplining your child with special needs. Retrieved from
https://kidshealth.org/en/parents/discipline-special.html
26
Hui, K. & Tai, J. (2016). Living with invisible disabilities. Straits Times. Retrieved from
http://www.straitstimes.com/opinion/your-son-has-special-needs-so-do-my-dogs
Importance of love and patience. (2011, April 28). Retrieved from https://www.special-
learning.com/article/importance_of_love_and_patience
27

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Parañaque National High School-Main

Towards Academic Excellence and Value Formation

A Phenomenological Study of the Challenges and Coping

Strategies Faced by Parents of Children Aged 5 to15

With Learning Disabilities

A Qualitative Research Paper Presented to

The English Department of

Parañaque National High School-Main , Parañaque City

In Partial Fulfillment of the

Requirements for the Subjects

Practical Research 1 – Qualitative

Valencia, Sophia Venshi S.

of Children Aged 5 to 15With Learning Disabilities

II. Chapter 1 – The Problem and its Setting…………………………………………….1 - 5

III. Chapter 2 – Review of Related Literature ...…….…………………………………6 - 19

A. Relationship of Parents and their Child with Learning Disabilities…………7 - 8

B.Challenges Faced by Parents of Children with Learning Disabilities………. 8 - 13

C. Coping Strategies Used by Parents of Children with Learning Disabilities…14 - 18

B. Respondents and Sampling……………………………………………………20 - 22

C. Data Collection Technique…………………………………………………….22 - 24

D. Data Gathering Procedures…………………………………………………….25

Aged 5 to 15With Learning Disabilities

the sacrifices and serious experiences of these parents.

Aged 5 to 15With Learning Disabilities

order to have a better output.

worthy and led to a trivial thing for we obtained a successful outcome.

Aged 5 to 15With Learning Disabilities

of Children Aged 5 to 15With Learning Disabilities

The Problem and its Setting

they mature and grow older.

Aged 5 to 15With Learning Disabilities

dysgraphia, dyspraxia, dysphasia/aphasia, auditory processing disorder, and visual processing

the ability to disrupt a child's learning potential.Similarly, developmental delays, specifically

It is important to remember that children with learning disabilitieshave a long-term

Aged 5 to 15With Learning Disabilities

B. Statement of the Problem

1. What are the challenges faced by parents of childrenwith learning disabilities?

that they face?

3. How do the parents of children with learning disabilitiesdescribe their overall

experience in taking care of their children?

C. Significance of the Study

Aged 5 to 15With Learning Disabilities

Figure 1 – Paradigm of the Study

1. Profile of children 1. Description of the 1. Better

Aged 5 to 15With Learning Disabilities

research questions of the study.

difficult for all of the parents.

parent may not be challenging to another parent.

 Learning Disability – a condition of a child that causes difficulties in acquiring

knowledge and skills.

Aged 5 to 15With Learning Disabilities

Review of Related Literature

A learning disability is a neurological disorder. In simple terms, a learning disability

taught in conventional ways (Rosales, 2011).

successful, often distinguished careers later in life.

The learning disabilities have different effects to children. Attention-deficit/hyperactivity

disorder (ADHD) is a brain disorder marked by an ongoing pattern of inattention and/or

hyperactivity-impulsivity that interferes with functioning or development (“Attention Deficit

Hyperactivity Disorder,” 2016). As stated by Morin (2016), “A global developmental delay is

Aged 5 to 15With Learning Disabilities

includes what used to be known as Asperger syndrome and pervasive developmental

disorders(“Autism Spectrum Disorder,” 2017). These learning disabilities may be diagnosed in

Relationship of Parents and their Child with Learning Disabilities