Israeli mothers' expectations from early intervention with their preschool deaf children

Abstract

Family-oriented early intervention programs have become a common practice in deaf education and intervention. This trend requires the extensive investigation of parents' expectations about programs and professionals in order to enhance the efficacy of parent-professional collaboration. The goal of this study was to closely examine the expectations of mothers whose children were already enrolled in a comprehensive early intervention program for deaf children and their families. Three means of data collection were utilized: two open-ended written questions, an individual oral interview with the mother, and a set of formal questionnaires on various maternal, family; and child characteristics. A heterogeneous sample of 50 mothers of 2- to 5-year-old deaf children in Israel participated in the study. A wealth of maternal expectations emerged from this qualitative methodology; underscoring mothers' impressive knowledge and awareness, as well as individual differences. Through cluster analysis, the mothers were sorted into four distinct groups, yielding interesting patterns of expectations for programs and professionals.