Twenty-eighth International Conference on Learning

Abstract

The announcement of a diagnosis is a multifactorial and highly determining process for the participants. Research has shown that most parents seem to treat the announcement as part of an ongoing process, causing various emotional reactions to those involved. The purpose of the study is to understand the subjective experience and the influence of participants’ work framework, speciality. and perceptions on mutual interactions within the setting. This study is a qualitative investigation of the special education experts’ experience. The participants were 20 employees- experts in special education, working in two different diagnostic centres, the Medical Education Centers and the Centers for Educational and Counselling Support. The data collection based on open-ended interview. Interviews were digitally recorded, transcribed, and analyzed according to the thematic analysis’s methodological procedures and the theoretical framework of social representations theory. The thematic analysis resulted in 457 codes and seven main themes, i) who holds the responsibility for the acceptance of the diagnosis, ii) the sense of control in different settings during the announcement, iii) the feeling of unfulfillment due to everyday obstacles, iv) sense of anxiety facing denial, v) announcement as a combined effort, vi) interaction expectations and vii) perception of the other specializations within the setting. Most participants strongly support the paramount need for counselling services towards parents, material and technical support, training in psychometric tools and delivering difficult news. Findings suggest further research is needed on a grander scale, providing the opportunity to develop training, support, and counselling programs and strengthen communication among settings.