"They just get it" an exploration of father's experiences and perceptions of a support group for men caring for children with disabilities and/or developmental delay

"They just get it" an exploration of father's experiences and perceptions of a support group for men caring for children with disabilities and/or developmental delay

Batchelor, Molly; Maguire, Sabine; Shearn, Julia

Journal of Applied Research in Intellectual Disabilities

2021

Humans; Child; Female; Male; Qualitative Research; Perception; Fathers; Self-Help Groups; *Intellectual Disability; *Disabled Children

BACKGROUND: Support groups available to parents/carers of children with a disability or developmental delay (DDD) are predominately attended by women. Limited data exists reporting experiences of the few male-only support groups. This paper examines experiences of fathers of children with DDD attending a male-only support group from South Wales., METHOD: All fifteen members from a support group for fathers/male carers of children with DDD were invited to take part in qualitative interviews and seven participated. The data were analysed following Braun and Clarke's (Qualitative research in psychology, 2006, 3:77) thematic framework., RESULTS: Within the group, fathers felt understood by similarly situated men, and a sense of connectivity and belonging. Fathers perceived exclusion elsewhere, including mixed-gender groups. Fathers felt permission to talk in a way consistent with their male identities, and valued receiving, and giving, support., CONCLUSIONS: Mixed-gender support groups may not meet the needs of fathers, and there are potential benefits in providing male-only groups. Copyright � 2020 John Wiley & Sons Ltd.

Article information provided for research and reference use only. PedPalASCNET does not hold any rights over the resource listed here. All rights are retained by the journal listed under publisher and/or the creator(s).

2023 SE4 - Parent Perspectives