CHANGING SOCIAL SUPPORTS OF FAMILIES WITH SPECIAL NEEDS CHILDREN

After COVID-19, the needs of parents of children with special needs and the quality and quantity of the required support could have changed. The present study was conducted to determine the currently available social support for parents with special needs and to obtain their views and recommendations about the support they expected from relevant institutions after the pandemic. The study was conducted with the phenomenological approach to collect the views of 15 parents with children with special needs. The study data were analyzed with content analysis. In the study, four themes were determined: burnout, acceptance/adaptation, available and expected support. After the pandemic, parents experienced emotional exhaustion, available support was not adequate for their needs, they experienced difficulties in acceptance and adaptation, and they mostly needed instrumental support. The significant gap between the system and social reflections can be filled by the addition of state institutions as well as non-governmental organizations working in the field of private education and the supervision of other institutions and organizations.