Importance of Counseling to Parents with Special Needs Children

Abstract

The birth of a child with special needs in each family was given a sense of anxiety to parents in addressing and managing the lives of children with special needs. Some parents feel very disappointed and sad because worry is not able to give full attention to their children. They also have less exposure from various sources related to managing their child's life. Therefore, a study on the importance of counselling to parents who have children with special needs has been carried out to assist parents in managing their children's special needs. The importance of counselling visits from four aspects, namely how to deal with emotional problems of parents, management and life care, education and future needs and work with special needs children. For this purpose, a total of 30 parents who have children with special needs in special education classes at local high schools Bandar Sri Permaisuri, Kuala Lumpur was chosen as the sample in this study. Information of respondents collected through a questionnaire that contains some parts. Result of study has found that parents think that counselling is very important and can help them in taking care of children with special needs. Almost all respondents have a positive perception of the importance of counselling. Therefore, counselling services are playing an important role for parents who have children with special needs.