The Perspective of Parents of Children with Disabilities on the Effects of the Covid-19 Pandemic

The aim of this research is to get an insight into the experience of parents of children with disabilities and to see how the Covid-19 pandemic affects the daily lives of the family, while examining factors of parental adaptation, observed changes in the child's behavior and changes in family dynamics. The results show that these are some of the factors which the participants assessed as factors of adaption to the new change: the existence of optimism, formal and informal support, moving to the countryside and to a larger area, devising creative activities, maintaining daily structure and preexisting habits around child care, spending more time outdoors and a stable financial situation. Changing daily routines makes it difficult for children to adapt to new circumstances, which has led to changes in children's behavior. The parents also noticed a change in the emotional status of the children, where they noticed how the changes had positive effects on some children, while other children expressed negative emotions. Parents also noticed changes in family dynamics, during which some families saw an improvement in family relations, while the pandemic had a negative effect on some families.