Parental Perspectives on Physical Education Services for Children With CHARGE Syndrome

Abstract

For this study, the researchers used a grounded theory approach to explore the perspectives of parents with children who have CHARGE syndrome regarding their children's physical education experiences. Participants included 10 mothers of children with CHARGE syndrome ages 6 to 23 years old. The parents completed a demographic survey and participated in a semi-structured interview where they discussed their perspectives on their child’s physical education services. The interviews were audio-recorded, transcribed, and analyzed using an open coding analysis. Three independent themes were revealed: (a) holistic expectations, (b) multifaceted barriers, and (c) facilitators to quality physical education. The perspectives shared by parents indicated that parents do find physical education services, an important part of the educational program. However, the existing programs did not meet the parents’ expectations specific to programming for children with CHARGE syndrome.