Feeling a Lack of Support: Accessibility to Single-Parents of Children with Special Needs

15-1822

Literature indicated that occupational therapy is beneficial for young children with special needs; children receiving occupational therapy at young age develop appropriate motor skills (Watkins et al., 2014). However, therapeutic services have not been easily accessible to single parents, leading them to feel a lack of support for their children (Ziviani et al., 2014). Focusing on this issue, we investigated five factors affecting feelings of lack of support by using data from the Parent Survey: Challenges for Low Income Families (Ward, Helen, & Morris, 2002-2005). The five predictors were parent’s marital status (PMS), whether the child has social or behavioral problems (CSBP), whether the parent has ever quit working (PQJ), how often the parent is disrupted at work to meet their child's needs (PDW), and if the child receives special services (CRSS). The results from a logistic regression analysis revealed that CSBP, PQJ, and PDW were significant, as expected. Interestingly, PMS was significant only for young children, and CRSS was nonsignificant. Related to potential reasons of the current findings, claims from previous studies (e.g., Loprest & Davidoff, 2004) can be considered; making an extra effort to receive special services seems challenging for low-income single parents, leading them to feel lack of support. Informed by secondary data analysis results, the ongoing research expands the focus of research to alternative approaches which can improve accessibility to therapeutic services for single-parents. In addition to research the research findings, the presentation will also provide information about how secondary data analyses can facilitate undergraduate research.