İrem Damla ÇİMEN, Zeliha YEĞİN, Ahmet Sefa GÜMÜŞSOY, Tuğçe KAPUCU

COVID-19 Pandemisinde Özel Gereksinimli Çocuklar ve Ebeveyn Tükenmişliği

Amaç: COVID-19 enfeksiyonu yaşamın her alanını etkilemiştir. Bununla birlikte toplumun bazı kesimleri pandemi ve sonuçlarından daha fazla etkilenmiştir. Özel Gereksinimli Çocuklara (ÖGÇ) sahip aileler de şüphesiz pandemiden daha fazla etkilenen gruplar içerisinde yer almıştır. Çalışmamızda; ÖGÇ’lerin ve ebeveynlerinin pandemide özel eğitim merkezlerinin kapanma döneminde özel eğitim gereksinimleri ile ilgili sorun yaşayıp yaşamadıklarını saptamak, özel eğitime ara verilme sürecinin ebeveyn-çocuk ilişkisi, ebeveynlerin tükenmişlik düzeyi ve ÖGÇ’nin gelişim süreci ile ilişkisini incelemek amaçlanmıştır. Gereç ve Yöntem: Çalışmamıza 2020-2021 eğitim öğretim döneminde Kocaeli ilinde özel eğitim ve rehabilitasyon merkezlerine kayıtlı, 0-18 yaş arası çocuğu olan ebeveynler alınmıştır. Ebeveynlere; sosyodemografik veri formu, Maslach Tükenmişlik Ölçeği ve Ebeveyn Çocuk İlişkisi Ölçeği verilmiştir. Bulgular: Çalışma sonucunda; çocukların özel eğitim aldığı tanı ve ebeveyn tükenmişliği arasında ilişki olduğu, tükenmişliğin OSB tanılı çocuğu olan ailelerde daha yüksek olduğu gözlenmiştir. Tükenmişlik puanı yüksek olan ailelerin çocuklarının gelişimde pandemi döneminde gerileme olması dikkat çekmiştir. Annesi çalışan, ebeveyni evden çalışmayan, ailenin aylık geliri 4501 TL ve üstü olan, özel eğitime gitmiş olduğu toplam süre 0-24 ay arası olan grupta çocukların gelişiminde ilerlemenin daha fazla olduğu saptanmıştır. 11 yaş ve altı çocuğu olan ebeveynlerin çocuklarıyla anlamlı oranda daha fazla olumlu ilişkisinin olduğu gözlenmiştir. Sonuç: COVID-19 pandemisinde özel eğitim merkezlerinin kapanması, sosyal desteğin azalması, çocukları ile sürekli bir arada olmaları gibi nedenler ile ebeveynlere binen yükün artması ÖGÇ olan ailelerin tükenmişlik düzeyini artmasında rol oynamış olabilir. Pandemi döneminde ÖGÇ’lerin gelişim sürecini ve ailelerin ruhsal durumunu takip etmek, sorun alanlarını tespit etmek ve uygun destek programlarının hazırlanmasında önemli olacaktır.

Anahtar Kelimeler:

Çocuk, özel gereksinim, özel eğitim, tükenmişlik, ebeveyn-çocuk ilişkisi

Children with special educational needs and parental burnout during the pandemic lockdown period

Objective: This study aimed to investigate whether children with special needs and their parents had problems with special education needs during the lockdown, and to examine the relationship between the special education process and the parent-child relationship, the level of burnout of parents. Material and Methods: Our study included 283 parents with children registered to a special education and rehabilitation centers in Kocaeli province of Turkey during the 2020-2021 academic year. Sociodemographic data form, Maslach Burnout Inventory and Parent-Child Relationship Scale were given to parents. Results: Burnout of the parents with children with autism spectrum disorder is at a higher level. The development of the children with parents who had high burnout scores regressed. The progress in the development of children whose mothers were employed, whose parents did not work from home, whose family's monthly income was 4501 TL and above, and who received special education for 0-24 months until the restriction period of the pandemic was reported as better by the parents. Parents with children aged 11-below have more positive relationship with their children. Conclusion: Our study demonstrated that the closure of special education may play a role in increased burnout and negatively affected children and parents. Monitoring the development process of children and the mood of parents during pandemics or other situations that lead to the closure of special education centres will be important to identify the problem areas and prepare support programmes.

Keywords:

Child, special education, people with disabilities, burn-out, parent-child relationship,

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