Evaluation of the problems among the physical-mental disabled children under the coverage of Kashan rehabilitation centers

In recent years, special emphasis has been placed on the problems of the parents with disabled children. Hence, this study aimed to evaluate the problems in the families of disabled children. This cross-sectional study was conducted on 352 disabled children residing in rehabilitation centers of Kashan during 2007-8. A census was conducted in families of the children through an interview and a questionnaire. Moreover, some demographic characteristics (e.g. family attitude, and problems related to disabilities) were evaluated and analyzed using the descriptive statistics. Among 352 cases, 234 (66.6%) were male and most of them (36.1%) aged 10–19 years. The mean age of children was 24.2±18.5 years. Ninety-seven percent of mothers were housewives; 52% mentally disabled; 15.6% physically disabled and the remaining both mentally and physically disabled. Almost one-third of the families had more than one disabled children. The most frequent disabilities were associated with behavioral disorders, facial paralyses, limb deformities, fecal and urinary incontinence, running off at the mouth and convulsion, respectively. Most children were dependent on their adults in feeding, dressing and playing. In addition, the most important problems of the children were fecal and urinary incontinence, impairment in social adaptation with healthy children, verbal communication, recognizing individuals and also financial problems. Moreover, a significant relationship was seen between the severity of physical disability and gender (P=0.001). Considering that the disabled children face multiple social and physical problems, they require financial, social and familial support to have a near normal life.