Article

School reintegration following children's traumatic brain injury (TBI)
is still poorly understood from families' perspectives. We aimed to understand
how both unique and common experiences during children's school reintegration
were explained by parents to influence the family. METHODS: Data came from an
investigation using descriptive phenomenology (2005-2007) to understand parents'
experiences in the first five years following children's moderate to severe TBI.
Parents (N = 42 from 37 families in the United States) participated in two 90-min
interviews (first M = 15 months; second M = 27 months). Two investigators
independently coded parents' discussions of school reintegration using content
analysis to understand the unique and common factors that parents perceived
affected the family. RESULTS: Parents' school negotiation themes included the
following: (1) legal versus moral basis for helping the child; (2) inappropriate
state and local services that did not consider needs specific to TBI; and (3)
involvement in planning, implementing and evaluating the child's education plan.
Parents perceived that coordinated and collaboration leadership with school
personnel lessened families' workload. Families who home-schooled had unique
challenges. CONCLUSIONS: School reintegration can add to family workload by
changing roles and relationships and by adding to parents' perceived stress in
managing of the child's condition. IMPLICATIONS FOR REHABILITATION: Moderate to
severe traumatic brain injury is assumed to be the primary cause of children's
morbidities post-injury. Despite laws in the United States meant to facilitate
children's school reintegration needs, parents often perceived that policies and
practices differed from the intentions of laws and added to the family workload
and stress. The school environment of the child (physical, cultural or
psychological setting) plays an important long-term role in shaping family roles,
relationships and management of the child's condition.

Langue : ANGLAIS