Analysis of caregivers' perspectives on communication needs of children with complex communication in a residential care facility

This dataset presents responses of caregivers who provide support to children with complex communication needs (CCN) in a residential care facility organised in a Microsoft Excel spreadsheet. It consists of the participants’ biographical information that was obtained from the care facility manager as well as through the participants’ interviews. It also consists of interview questions and participants’ responses to the questions. Each question of the interview schedule was assigned its sheet in the Microsoft Excel file. The contents of each sheet consisted of a question number, the interview question, all the participants' responses to those questions as well as the codes and the identified themes. The study was conducted to explore caregivers’ perceptions and understanding of the communication needs of children with communication disabilities in a residential care facility/care centre. The study also investigated the role that caregivers played in meeting the communication needs of the children as well as the communication strategies that were implemented in the care facility. It was imperative to understand how caregivers perceived communication, and how their knowledge and understanding of communication influenced their level of interaction with the children as well as the participation of the children in daily activities. Understanding the caregivers’ perceptions will also provide insight into barriers to communication participation in residential care facilities for children with disabilities.<br>The care facility that was purposefully selected for this study was a residential care facility that offered alternative and partial care to children with disabilities in Mamelodi, a township in the City of Tshwane. Participants included only caregivers who worked directly with children who had communication disabilities. The qualitative data was collected through semi-structured face-to-face interviews with seven caregivers. The interview schedule was developed based on a range of previous studies and aimed to obtain information on (1) biographical information of the caregivers, (2) caregivers’ understanding of communication, (3) caregivers’ knowledge of the children’s communication needs and skills as well as (4) the views of caregivers regarding their roles in supporting communication. Caregivers’ responses were recorded on a voice recorder and transcribed verbatim. A translator was employed to transcribe and translate participants' responses that were not in English. A thematic data analysis method was then used to organize the transcribed data into a Microsoft Excel spreadsheet and identify themes. Dominant themes in the study were limited communication support resources, inconsistent speech therapy services and the need for training on AAC. Challenges and factors contributing to the limited communication support were also identified, namely short staffing, the additional teaching role, and the lack of knowledge and skills to support communication. The findings of the study also indicated that caregivers described the children's communication skills as emergent communicators and that caregivers mainly focused on the physical care of the children like bathing, feeding and medical care with not much time allocated to activities that encouraged communication participation. This is usually the case in many care facilities for children with disabilities in South Africa. Challenges that were presented by participants were rarely related to children’s inability to communicate through speech but rather the caregivers’ own challenges of caring for children with disabilities. It can be deduced that caregivers did not have much communication expectation from the children. There is a dire need for training of caregivers focusing on communication needs of children with CCN in care facilities, communication support skills as well as support by speech therapists knowledgeable in AAC.

本数据集呈现了某寄宿制护理机构中为复杂沟通需求儿童（CCN）提供支持的照护者的回应，数据以Microsoft Excel电子表格形式组织。数据集包含从护理机构管理者处获取及通过参与者访谈收集的个人背景信息，同时涵盖访谈问题及参与者的对应回答。访谈计划表中的每个问题在Microsoft Excel文件中对应独立工作表，各工作表内容包含问题编号、访谈问题、所有参与者的回答，以及编码和已识别的主题。

本研究旨在探究寄宿制护理机构中照护者对沟通障碍儿童沟通需求的认知与理解，同时调查照护者在满足儿童沟通需求方面所扮演的角色，以及机构内实施的沟通策略。研究经目的性抽样选取的护理机构位于茨瓦内市（City of Tshwane）的马梅洛迪（Mamelodi）乡镇，为残疾儿童提供替代性及部分护理服务。参与者仅限直接照护沟通障碍儿童的人员。

研究通过与7名照护者进行半结构化面对面访谈收集定性数据。访谈计划表基于多项前期研究制定，旨在获取以下信息：（1）照护者个人背景信息；（2）照护者对沟通的理解；（3）照护者对儿童沟通需求及技能的认知；（4）照护者对自身在支持沟通中角色的看法。照护者的回答通过录音设备记录并逐字转录。对于非英语的参与者回答，研究聘请翻译人员进行转录与翻译。

随后采用主题数据分析方法，将转录数据整理至Microsoft Excel电子表格并识别主题。研究中的核心主题包括沟通支持资源有限、言语治疗服务不连贯，以及对辅助沟通系统（AAC）培训的需求。研究还识别出导致沟通支持不足的挑战与因素，即人员短缺、额外的教学职责，以及缺乏支持沟通的知识与技能。

研究结果还显示，照护者将儿童的沟通技能描述为“萌芽期沟通者”，且照护者主要专注于儿童的生理照护（如沐浴、喂食及医疗护理），分配给促进沟通参与活动的时间极少。这在南非许多残疾儿童护理机构中较为普遍。参与者提出的挑战极少与儿童无法通过言语沟通相关，反而更多是照护者自身在照护残疾儿童过程中的挑战。由此可推断，照护者对儿童的沟通能力并无过高期望。

目前迫切需要为护理机构中的照护者提供培训，内容应聚焦于CCN儿童的沟通需求、沟通支持技能，以及由精通AAC的言语治疗师提供支持。