Family-Centeredness of Special Education and Rehabilitation Services for Young Children with Special Needs in Türkiye

Objectives: This study aims to evaluate the family-centeredness of early childhood special education and rehabilitation services and assess families’ satisfaction with these services. Materials and Methods: This cross-sectional study included 3-36 months-old children with special needs and their families who have been followed up at Ankara University Faculty of Medicine, Department of Pediatrics, Division of Developmental Pediatrics between 2014-2017 and receiving early intervention services for at least 3 months. The “Early Childhood Development Support Services Evaluation Scale” assessed the family-centeredness of these services. Results: A hundred and one children were included in the study. The median age of the children was 33 months, and 51.5% were male. Neurological disorders were present in 45.5%, and genetic disorders in 35.6%. Developmental evaluations showed 68.3% of children had special needs in expressive language, 64.4% in gross motor skills, and 62.4% in receptive language. At least half of the families rated the centers as “inadequate” on at least half of the scale. However, despite this, more than half of the families reported high satisfaction in terms of “completely finding what they were looking for”, “choosing the institution again”, and “recommending it to others. Conclusion: This study showed that, despite finding the early intervention services for young children with special needs in Türkiye to be inadequate regarding family-centeredness, the families remain generally satisfied. This study is significant in guiding efforts to develop family-centered early intervention services and enhancing families’ awareness and demands in this area, particularly in Türkiye and other similar low- and middle-income countries.