Families’ Awareness of Supportive Services for Their Childrenwith Intellectual Disabilities

Abstract

This study investigates how special education teachers perceive family awareness of support services for female students with intellectual disabilities enrolled in intellectual education programs. Adopting a qualitative approach, the research involved semi-structured interviews with nine special education teachers from various schools in the Aseer region of Saudi Arabia. The findings indicate that while some families demonstrate a good level of awareness and actively seek services both within and outside the school system, many face significant challenges. These include limited awareness of the importance and types of available support services, low educational backgrounds, and financial difficulties. Teachers also reported a general lack of multidisciplinary support teams in schools, which limits the availability of critical services such as speech therapy, psychological support, and physical or occupational therapy. Consequently, the burden of providing these services often falls on teachers themselves. The study highlights the need for initiatives aimed at enhancing family awareness and involvement, as well as systemic efforts to strengthen service provision in schools through multidisciplinary collaboration. These efforts are essential to ensure equitable, effective support for students with intellectual disabilities and to empower families as active partners in their children's education.