Impact of an education program on parental knowledge of specific learning disability.
BACKGROUND
A supportive home environment is one of the factors that can favorably determine the outcome of specific learning disability (SpLD) in a school-going child. However, there is no reliable information available on parental knowledge about SpLD.


OBJECTIVE
To investigate parental knowledge of SpLD and to evaluate the impact of an educational intervention on it.


METHODS
Prospective questionnaire-based study conducted in our clinic.


METHODS
From April to November 2002, 50 parents who were conversant in English and willing to follow up were interviewed. After the interview, each parent was administered a structured educational program and re-interviewed after 3 months.


METHODS
The pre- and post-intervention responses were compared using Chi-square test.


RESULTS
After the intervention, there was significant improvement in parental knowledge of (i) the meaning of the term 'SpLD' (32/50 vs. 50/50, P CONCLUSION: Parental knowledge of their child's SpLD is inadequate and this can be significantly improved by a single-session educational program.
Karande
Sunil
S
Learning Disability Clinic, Division of Pediatric Neurology, Department of Pediatrics, Lokmanya Tilak Municipal Medical College and General Hospital, Sion, Mumbai-400 022, India. karandesunil@yahoo.com
Mehta
Vishal
V
Kulkarni
Madhuri
M
D000293:Adolescent; D000328:Adult; D001364:Awareness; D002648:Child; D003625:Data Collection; D004410:Dyslexia; D004521:Educational Measurement; D004522:Educational Status; D005260:Female; D007722:Health Knowledge, Attitudes, Practice; D006801:Humans; D007407:Interviews as Topic; D007859:Learning Disabilities / Q000175:diagnosis*; D008297:Male; D017145:Models, Educational; D010290:Parents / Q000523:psychology*; D010465:Perception; D015397:Program Evaluation; D011446:Prospective Studies; D011795:Surveys and Questionnaires