Spreading the Word Research - VI Teenagers with additional disabilities

The following points summarise the research findings amongst families with a child or teenager who has a visual impairment and any additional disabilities.

• Parents stated that information about visual impairment came secondary to information about additional disabilities as the additional disability usually outweighed the visual impairment in severity in the early stages.
• Parents only used 'Voluntary Organisations' as an information source when a specific need arose which they felt a voluntary organisation would be able to help them with.
• 'Voluntary Organisations' was the only topic rated as 'Good' or 'Excellent' in the 'Pre School Age' period of information seeking for parents.
•  Support and counselling from professionals and other parents was identified as a particular need in the early stages of their child's diagnosis.
• Education was sited as the most important information topic overall throughout their child's childhood and the emphasis for most parents was on receiving unbiased information.
• Parents' main contact is the hospital as they tend to spend a lot of time at the hospital as their children have multiple disabilities. However, the hospital is rated 'Poor' or 'Very Poor' as an information source. Second contact is 'other parents in similar situation.'
• Parents tend to 'skim off' information from 'Voluntary Organisations.'