According to evidence from the existing kinds of literature, children with disabilities tend to experience diverse forms of the limited scale of social interaction, compromised friendships, social difficulties, prolonged solitary play, thwarted social abilities, and poor response to attempts at interacting with peers. Often, the limited levels of social skills are evident when the child with disability is placed in a typical learning institution ( Lewallen & Neece, 2015) . Family members of children with different developmental incapacities experience diverse challenges that differ from encounters of families of a typically developing child. When children with disabilities are born into a family, a broad range of emotions tend to develop, including anger, grief, and shock ( Shields & Synnot, 2016) . Families experiencing such emotions outbursts and responses need some duration to adjust, with various outcomes of the caregiving process being identified among the family members. Children with intellectual and physical disabilities encounter unique challenges in their social and educational development because of cognitive and developmental behaviors and needs that demand special parenting and sibling roles.
Parent’s Role
The role played by parents in the development and training of children with physical and intellectual disabilities cannot be disputed. In trying to deliver functional skills to children with physical or intellectual disabilities, parents contribute significantly to attaining target objectives. Lewallen and Neece (2015) consider parents as the principal mentors and instructors, especially in the early life of child development. Regarding social and educational development, there is no limit to parental participation. Federal laws such as Education for All Handicapped Children Act (Public Law 94-142) highlight the need and significance of parental active participation in the training and development of every child’s personal education program. Multiple studies have defined not only the positive outcomes of the role played by parents in early interventions, especially in the home learning settings but also in children’s outreach programs ( Shields & Synnot, 2016) .
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Parents can provide relevant information concerning the development of different social and educational aspects among children. The family can engage in countless skills training and development processes, including evaluation, teaching, educational programming, assessment, and skills identification ( Robinson & Graham, 2019) . The presence of an informed parent in the family that has an intellectually or physically disabled child can assist in identifying early signs of educational and social incapacities. Informed parents can offer rich information about the training and development aspects of the child. Initial and recurring meetings with trainers and parents to discuss the evaluation findings can also assist in establishing an effective management plan. Parent’s involvement is critical to implementing the teaching or management plan.
Different studies have attempted to assess the contribution of the family to the development of social and educational skills among children with intellectual and physical disabilities. In the study performed by Mohsin, Khan, Doger, and Awan (2011), the multiple roles of parents in educating children with intellectual disabilities was examined. The purpose of the study was to determine parental roles in creating an assessment tool regarding needs evaluation of functional skills, implementation, programming, and assessment of the training program. In the design of the program, Mohsin et al. (2011) involved the parents in all project phases. The study involved two children (female and male) and their parents. The participants expressed their written consent and commitment to engage in the program. Mohsin et al. (2011) applied ecological inventories and functional training skills to create the needs assessment design for a child’s functional skills. The study findings highlighted that parents have multiple roles in educational skills training, especially for children with intellectual incapacities.
Regarding previous studies on the role of the family in developing educational and social skills in children with physical and intellectual disabilities, the severity of the disability should influence the degree of parental and sibling involvement. Shields and Synnot (2016) found that a high level of maternal interaction with the child suffering from intellectual and physical disability enhances their educational and social skills. Other studies have also found that family aspects such as family relationships, parental involvement, and parental/sibling attitudes are indirectly and directly connected to a child’s social competence. Parental attitudes describe the perceptions and beliefs held by the parents concerning progressive development of the child. According to Lewallen and Neece (2015) , the attitudes expressed or held by the child’s primary caregiver greatly influence the perceptions of other people towards the child with intellectual or physical disability. The attitudes exhibited by parents can influence direct involvement with the child, which reflects the alteration of social and educational development.
Various models constructed in the past have highlighted the indirect association between social and educational skills and family relationships. Family associations denote the interactions between the members of the family as well as how the unit manages to survive various psychosocial and environmental stressors that develop when a child is intellectually or physically disabled. Robinson and Graham (2019) argue that family connections, especially the connectedness and expressive aspects, affect social outcomes for the child. Connection between parental involvement and family unions has also been established. For instance, Ayvazoglu, Kozub, Butera, and Murray (2015) identified that families comprised of more positive associations (healthy functioning, robust communication, and effective problem-solving) indicated increased levels of coping mechanisms. Overall, family relationships that function effectively are known to increase the child’s involvement in school activities.
Siblings’ Role
As an important element of the family unit, siblings play a critical role in the educational and social development of children with physical or intellectual development. Siblings to kids with various disabilities are a critical element to the social development of the affected child. Brothers and sisters tend to possess a lifelong connection that surpasses the relationships with parents. Robinson and Graham (2019) claim that siblings tend to involve the first strong social network. Empowering and understanding a non-handicapped sibling often turn feelings of jealousy, anger, guilt, and resentment into positive perceptions and actions of effective teaching and assistance. Educators need to acknowledge the ways that siblings of children with disabilities can be both an outside resource and a positive influence.
The study conducted by ( Ayvazoglu et al., 2015) depicted the emerging conflicts and disruption in the conventional family models. According to the research, the traditional family unit no longer comprises a housewife mother and working father. Issues such as the rise in the cost of living, both parents involved in various commercial work, and long working hours, have transformed the traditional family model. Ongoing trends such as remarriage and divorce has also increased the shift to new family units, with other people or families relocating, having fewer children, and the need for smaller family sizes. These new trends mean that parents have become more stressed by financial and professional responsibilities, leaving limited time for their children, particularly the kids with various physical and intellectual disabilities. Changes in the family model have led to siblings having more independent and stronger relationships. Shields and Synnot (2016) clarifies that educators responsible for understanding and studying family dynamics should stay aware of the needs of children with disabilities to enhance differentiation. Ensuring that there is a child without any form of disability in the family or school environment, is a critical asset to the design of in-home assistance and instruction.
The research performed by Lauderdale-Littin, Howell, and Blacher (2013) has highlighted the effectiveness of teaching siblings according to gender. The study found that female siblings are more effective than male counterparts in giving simple conceptual activities to younger siblings. In one of the studies performed by disability experts in a therapy session, the older sister of a young child with autism urged her disabled brother more than the mother, especially when some suggested activities were offered. The female sibling could beckon the autistic brother to the table or personally handle the disabled child flashcards and toys using her understanding of the situation. The desire of the sister to assist as well as the brother’s involvement in the suggested tasks construct the mutually beneficial relationship that that interdependent brother-sister associations need to help a child with educational or physical disabilities.
In the learning environment, for instance, school, instructors should be first group to consider the situation of the family of a child with intellectual or physical disability. Stress levels in a family with a disabled child are higher than in families without a child suffering from physical or intellectual disabilities ( Maciver et al., 2019) . Older siblings complain that they have overwhelming responsibilities to their sibling with disability. While several siblings possess the intrinsic desire learn and engage with their suffering brother or sister, data has clarified the consequence of such responsibilities on the welfare of older siblings, especially the female.
Parents and educators both play critical roles in teaching siblings how to handle their sisters or brothers with intellectual and physical disabilities. Often, adults in the family can be role models and mentors regarding recommending siblings to address various demeanors that would foster involvement between the disabled and normally developing siblings ( Floyd & Olsen, 2017) . Moral support should be provided by adults in the family to assist non-handicapped children to understand the cause of their sibling’s disability as well as the existence of support and reassurance. In the family, adults and educators can determine and provide the resources required by the children to understand the nature and cause of disabilities. Adults are also the confidants of non-handicapped children, particularly if their disabled brother or sister is teased by the normally developing friends or peers.
Conclusions
Children with physical and intellectual disabilities experience special challenges in their educational, cognitive, and social development because of the complex developmental needs that some families cannot offer without professional and moral assistance. The existing pieces of literature have highlighted the unique roles of parents and siblings in the family with a child suffering from physical or intellectual disability. The role of all family members should focus on the training and teaching of children with physical and intellectual to develop educationally and socially. A critical finding in the current research review is the contribution of a healthy family relationship in enhancing social and educational development of children with physical and intellectual disabilities.
References
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