Role of Parents in the Care of Mentally Challenged Children in the Selected Special School of Bagalkot

Introduction: All parents wish for healthy baby, but some parents though not by their choice are forced into a situation of having child with mental retardation. The birth of child with a disability, or the discovery that a child a disability can have profound effects on the family. “But Every child is special”. Having a child with disability in a family is not the same having achild without disability. But above all parents are the directly affected population and also are the prime care-takers to provide life long support and security to the mentally retarded persons [1]. Method: An non experimental descriptive survey study, the sample of the present study comprises mentally challenged children residing in special school of Bagalkot. A non-probability purposive sampling technique was adopted to select samples in the present study. The sample comprises 50 parents of mentally challenged children. The data were collected by using closed ended questionnaires for socio demographic variables of parents of mentally challenged children, self administrated knowledge to assess the role in the care of mentally challenged children. The data obtained analyzed with help of descriptive and inferential statistics. Results: Finding related to the assessment of role of parents in care of mentally challenged children reveled that psychosocially majority (86%) of parents were moderate psychosocial well being, (10%) of parents were high psychosocial well being and (4%) were poor psychosocial well being. Economically majority (58%) of parents were having average financial stability, (24%) of parents were having moderate financial stability and (2%) of parents were having poor financial stability. In daily routine activities majority (50%) of parents were following adequate daily routine activity, and other (50%)of parents were following moderate daily routine activity. Psychosocially the mean and SD of parents of mentally challenged children (21.6±4.34) respectively. Economically ....