Gaze-based assistive technology used in daily life by children with severe physical impairments - parents' experiences

OBJECTIVE

To describe and explore parents' experiences when their children with severe physical impairments receive gaze-based assistive technology (gaze-based assistive technology (AT)) for use in daily life.

METHODS

Semi-structured interviews were conducted twice, with one year in between, with parents of eight children with cerebral palsy that used gaze-based AT in their daily activities. To understand the parents' experiences, hermeneutical interpretations were used during data analysis.

RESULTS

The findings demonstrate that for parents, children's gaze-based AT usage meant that children demonstrated agency, provided them with opportunities to show personality and competencies, and gave children possibilities to develop. Overall, children's gaze-based AT provides hope for a better future for their children with severe physical impairments; a future in which the children can develop and gain influence in life.

CONCLUSION

Gaze-based AT provides children with new opportunities to perform activities and take initiatives to communicate, giving parents hope about the children's future.

Trajectory of parental hope when a child has difficult-to-treat cancer: a prospective qualitative study

OBJECTIVE

This prospective and longitudinal study was designed to further our understanding of parental hope when a child is being treated for a malignancy resistant to treatment over three time points during the first year after diagnosis using a qualitative approach to inquiry.

METHODS

We prospectively recruited parents of pediatric cancer patients with a poor prognosis who were treated in the Hematology/Oncology Program at a large children's hospital for this longitudinal grounded theory study. Parents were interviewed at three time points: within 3 months of the initial diagnosis, at 6 months, and at 9 months. Data collection and analysis took place concurrently using line-by-line coding. Constant comparison was used to examine relationships within and across codes and categories.

RESULTS

Two overarching categories defining hope as a positive inner source were found across time, but their frequency varied depending on how well the child was doing and disease progression: future-oriented hope and present-oriented hope. Under future-oriented hope, we identified the following: hope for a cure and treatment success, hope for the child's future, hope for a miracle, and hope for more quality time with child. Under present-oriented hope, we identified hope for day-to-day/moment-to-moment, hope for no pain and suffering, and hope for no complications.

CONCLUSIONS

For parents of children with a diagnosis of cancer with a poor prognosis, hope is an internal resource that can be present and future focused. These views fluctuated over time in response to changes in the child's well-being and disease progression.