Development of an Online Training Course for Government Employees to Support Families With a Child With Profound Intellectual and Multiple Disabilities

TL;DR

An online training course was developed to help government employees better support families with children who have severe disabilities.

Contribution

The study created a needs-based online training course for government employees using insights from parents.

Findings

Parents wanted support to strengthen their resilience and care capacity.

Improved communication between parents and government employees was identified as a key need.

An online training course was developed based on these insights.

Abstract

Families with a child with profound intellectual and multiple disabilities have to manage the pervasive support needs of their child, which is a complex task. By properly supporting them, we can ensure these families live a positive and meaningful life.

A product to support these families was developed using the method of Design Thinking, which included parents filling out three different questionnaires.

It was found that parents preferred to be supported in strengthening their resilience and care capacity, specifically by improving the communication and (mutual) understanding between them and municipal government employees. An online training course for government employees was subsequently developed.

This study has led to the development of a product that can support families with a child with profound intellectual and multiple disabilities according to their needs and preferences. This study has also provided insights into how these parents prefer to be supported.