“A parent-child special bond: The Influence of Parental Involvement on the Continuous

Learning Progress of their Child with Developmental Disability in the Pandemic”

I. Introduction

Children may go through different phases of development and accomplish different types

of progress, they each have unique talents and skills, some of which they may have discovered

earlier or later. Thus, it is difficult to predict with certainty when a child will acquire a certain

talent. The developmental milestones, however, provide an overview of the changes to consider

as a child gets older.

Developmental milestones are a collection of functional skills or age-appropriate tasks

that most children can perform by a certain age. These are also used by pediatricians to help

check how child is developing. Even if each milestone has a specific age range, a typically

developing child can accomplish that milestone at a variety of ages.

One of the techniques that may be used is through developmental monitoring, which

entails actively observing a child's development while encouraging communication between

parents and caregivers about a child's abilities and talents. This also includes keeping track of the

child's development and determining whether they have reached the regular developmental

milestones, or abilities, that most children achieve by a certain age in areas such as playing,

learning, speaking, behaving, and moving.

childhood educators, and other caregivers. The program of CDC entitled “Learn the Signs. Act

Early.” has developed free materials, including the CDC's Milestone Tracker app, to assist

parents and providers in working together to monitor the child's development and identify when

there may be a concern and when additional screening is needed. A brief checklist of

developmental milestones can be utilized to assess the child's progress. It is also advisable to

discuss the concerns and information about developmental screening with the doctor or nurse.

As children develop at their own pace, they may come in a variety of healthy shapes and

sizes. Genetics, gender, nutrition, physical activity, health problems, environment, and hormones

all play a role in a child's height and weight, and many of these factors can vary greatly between

families (Choi, 2021).

More than 1 billion people, or 15 percent of the global population, live with disabilities,

with up to 190 million people (3.8 percent) aged 15 years and older having significant difficulties

in functioning, often requiring healthcare services. The number of people living with disability is

dramatically increasing, due to epidemiological and demographic trends, and increases in

chronic health conditions (WHO, 2020).

Unfortunately, educational opportunities remain out of reach for the majority of children

with disabilities, who are among the most underprivileged in educational systems around the

world. Almost 25 percent of more than 2 billion children globally are still out of school. Among
these, at least 50 percent of children with disabilities are excluded from education in low- and

middle-income countries (HI, 2020).

Peer interaction, social perception, and social competence are all important aspects of the

educational experience for children with disabilities. Schools provide spaces for social

interaction and often offer services such as counselling or speech and language therapy,

however, recent lockdowns and social distancing implied that many children with disabilities, as

well as other vulnerable groups, experienced limitations in social opportunities. School closures

also resulted in the loss of essential services (such as health monitoring and food distribution)

and social protection mechanisms, which are frequently provided in school settings.

However, with the recent pandemic in the country, how can a parent successfully employ

the various techniques for dealing with the situation? How can a parent possibly meet the needs

of their children, especially during a pandemic? Do they consistently involve themselves in their

children's activities in terms of their development and learning progress? Do they try to seek

professional assistance because they may be burdened by the difficulties they may face during

the pandemic?

In relation to this, parents may have their own techniques or strategies that can help them

cope up with the struggles of parenting. There are different forms of parenting styles that are

used in child psychology such as permissive, authoritative, neglectful and authoritarian. Each

parenting style has a particular impact on how kids behave, and it may be distinguished by

certain qualities as well as the degree of responsiveness or how warm and receptive parents are
to their kids' needs and demandingness or the extent of control parents put on their children in an

attempt to influence their behavior.

Parenting takes on a particular significance because a child with developmental disability

depends on his or her capability for social interaction, requiring the child to have additional time,

education, coping skills and family support (Smith, 2022).

Moreover, there is no "one size fits all" method to parenting, so they don't have to follow

a certain approach all the time. However, parents should utilize a variety of parenting techniques

once in a while.

According to Dyches and Smith (2022), positive parenting can be effective in assisting

young children with developmental disabilities to become more independent and cooperative.

Children who were positively parented demonstrated greater levels of independence, language

skills, emotional expression, and social interaction with adults and peers. They also showed

improved temperament. Also, it is more likely to lead to a reduction in the symptoms and

severity of a child's disability over time. Making frequent eye contact, using positive affirmation

rather than criticism, demonstrating understanding, and responding efficiently are all indicators

of positive parenting.

The most successful parents understand when to adapt their parenting style to the

situation. For example, when a child is ill, an authoritative parent may want to become more

permissive by continuing to provide warmth while relinquishing some control, while a

permissive parent may be stricter if a child's safety is compromised, such as crossing a busy
street. At the end of the day, using the best judgment and remembering that the parenting style

that works best for each family at the time should be used.

Smith (2022), also stressed that the necessity of early intervention is vital for children

with developmental disabilities particularly in a single-parent households due to often limited

resources, especially parental time. Parental involvement that is constructive and timely can

encourage children's intellectual, social, and even physical growth. Also, it is important to have a

safe and loving home, as well as spend time with family playing, singing, reading, and talking.

In support of this, there are several studies that have been developed as to determine the

influence of parental involvement in the contribution of the continuous learning progress of

children with developmental disabilities particularly in the pandemic, the current study would

elaborate more of the research in accordance with the application of programs in the Philippines

to address the issues or problems that may be tackled in the current study. Through this study, it

is aimed to develop a program to give more than just awareness but to train the mind, body, and

hearts of the parents, to involve the different institutions, and to give importance to the progress

of children in any aspect of their lives.

As this study will be explored and understood from a different perspective, it will serve

as a stepping stone for parents to gain awareness of their struggles and how they would cope in

order to better understand and acknowledge their feelings to be physically, emotionally, and

mentally healthy in their effort to involve themselves in their children's continuous learning

progress. Through the provision of trainings or programs highlighting the strategies and
techniques that the parents have to know in order to effectively handle the progress of their

children, this will help the parents be more confident with the accomplishment of their

milestones with their child. Furthermore, the significance of acknowledging a different

perspective of parents in this situation will be introduced to future researchers in order to develop

or explore more research utilizing these variables.

This study aims to determine how parents get involved in the activities of their children

with developmental disability particularly in the pandemic to know its possible effects to the

continuous learning progress of their children. Specifically, it seeks to answer the following

questions:

1. What is the profile of the respondents in terms of;

1.1 Age;

1.2 Age gave birth to son/daughter with developmental disability;

1.3 Type of Parenting;

1.3.1 Family

1.3.2 Sole Parenting

1.3.3 Co-parenting

1.4 Age of child when diagnosed; and

1.5 Developmental Disability of the Child?

2. How would the relationship of the parents and children be described?

3. How would the development of the children be described?

described? (Physical, emotional, psychological, social, financial)

5. How may the support of parents and development of the children relate to one another?

6. To what extent these factors affect the progress of the children?

7. Is there a significant difference between these factors and the progress of their children?

8. What capacity building program may be proposed to help the parents in being part of the

continuous progress of their children?

II. Methodology

Research Design

The objective of this research study is to determine the possible influence of parental

involvement in the continuous learning progress of their children with developmental

disabilities particularly in the pandemic in one of the Public SPED Schools in Batangas City

and to develop a program to address the concerns. To meet this purpose, a qualitative

method of research will be used to maximize the depth of the information collected,

therefore less structured interviews are most effective to answer the questions and the

purposes of the study.

As defined by Creswell (2018), qualitative research is an approach for exploring and

understanding the meaning that individuals or groups ascribe to a social or human problem.

The researcher believes that this will be the appropriate method to explain and organize the

information needed in determining the influence of parental involvement in the continuous

learning progress of their children with developmental disabilities particularly in the

pandemic.
 In light of this, the use of phenomenological research as an approach to qualitative

research that culminates in the essence of the experiences for several individuals who have

all experienced the phenomenon will be employed in the current study. This design has

strong theoretical foundations and is typically carried out through interviews. Furthermore,

this method eliminates biases and preconceived notions about the participants' personal

experiences, feelings, and responses to a particular situation.

The administration of self-constructed questionnaire will be utilized as a tool for

interview guide. Moreover, additional questions will be made available during the interview

to meet the objectives.

Respondents of the Study

The respondents of this study are the parents or guardians of children diagnosed with

developmental disabilities, particularly ASD, ADHD and Intellectual Disability in one of the

Public SPED Schools in Batangas City. The respondents will be identified using a purposive

sampling method, which involves the intentional selection of individuals who fit the purpose

of the research (Creswell, 2018).

Data Gathering Instrument

The instrument of the study guided the researcher to achieve its objectives. In order to

gather information from the chosen subject of the study, the researcher will conduct

demographic questions to describe basic and necessary information in relation to the

variables being measured, the researcher will use validated interview guide question as a

tool to assess the influence of parental involvement in the continuous learning progress of

their children with developmental disability and to develop an in depth understanding of the
data needed from the respondents. The said questionnaire will be validated by the Registered

Psychometrician and this will be based on its conceptual paradigm. Upon conducting the

interview, the researcher will utilize Interpretative Phenomenological Analysis (IPA) to

explore the details of how the participants are making sense of their personal and social

world. Since, the interview questionnaire contained open-ended questions, the researcher

will record the interview as permitted and transcribe the field notes for analysis.

Data Gathering Procedure

Prior to distributing the questionnaire, the researcher will provide accurate information

about the study and obtain permission from the participants. Thus, the APA research ethics

principle will be followed in order to maintain and meet professional, institutional, and

federal standards for conducting research with human participants.

A validated interview guide question will then be prepared to serve as the basis for

knowing the personal experiences of the parents in relation to their involvement with the

continuous learning progress of their children with developmental disabilities.

Next, a letter of permission to have the list of students and parents’ information from

the school will be utilized to ensure that these materials will be put to good use. Assistance

from the faculty members of the school will be needed in the continuous development of the

study.

The researcher will then establish social and emotional rapport with the participants,

as well as provide a thorough explanation of the objectives, duration of the activity, right to

decline participation and withdraw from the research, and confidentiality of the information.

Prior to the actual interview, the researcher will seek permission to use voice recording. All
the information and data gathered by the researcher will be documented and kept

confidential to be able to analyze all the data regarding the respondent’s description of the

phenomenon.

The extraction and coding of the recorded significant statements of the respondents’

data will be transcribed and translated into a narrative statement. The researcher will

organize the generated meanings and cluster them into major themes and sub-themes that

significantly identify the experiences of respondents. After the interviews, sincere gratitude

to the respondents will surely be expressed.

The research design that will be used is deemed valuable in determining the specific

phenomenon and the most appropriate research method. Data will be analyzed using

thematic analysis to better understand the parents' personal experiences.

Data Analysis

In this study, the researcher will use the IPA to analyze the data from the

phenomenological interviews. These include reading and rereading the text, as well as taking

initial notes on points of interest.

The following stage entails working directly with the transcripts and the preliminary

notes to develop emergent themes. By focusing on the most important and interesting data,

the researcher will work to maintain the depth and complexity. The researcher will be useful

in ensuring that only the most relevant data is retained, increasing sensitivity and openness

to the meanings contained within the data.

Finally, to look for connections between emerging themes, group them based on

conceptual similarities, and give each cluster a descriptive label. As a result, the narrative
account may engage in multiple levels of interpretation, ranging from low-level data

interpretation to a highly detailed, interpretative, and theoretical level that may yield new

insights. A typical IPA project will begin with a narrative account, followed by a discussion

section that connects the identified themes to existing literature. Reflection on the research

can be included, as well as comments on the study's implications, limitations, and future

development ideas.

Ethics

To ensure the protection and privacy of the participants, their identifying information

will not be revealed, and aliases may be used. With the confidentiality of the data and

information, the researcher will assure the respondents that the materials will be used

appropriately and that only authorized individuals will have access to their information.

Informed consent will be made available for the respondents; it is to inform them about the

purpose and details of the activity, their right to decline and withdraw from the research

(Creswell, 2018).

The researcher will provide participants with a prompt opportunity to obtain

appropriate information about the nature, results, and conclusions of the research during

debriefing. The researcher will take reasonable steps to correct any misconceptions with

which participants may be confused.