A Qualitative Study on Understanding Parental Perspectives on Physiotherapy for Children with Down Syndrome

Background: Down syndrome is one of the most common genetic conditions associated with intellectual and developmental disabilities, often necessitating ongoing care and therapeutic support. Parents and caregivers are central to addressing the social, emotional, and physical challenges involved in raising a child with Down syndrome. This study aimed to explore the expectations and lived experiences of 13 parents of children aged 3 to 17 years with Down syndrome, from recognized special schools. An inductive thematic analysis was carried out using verbatim transcripts of the audio recordings. To enhance the study’s trustworthiness, aspects such as credibility, transferability, dependability, and confirmability were emphasized. Overall, parents reported improvements in their children's motor function following physiotherapy. However, they faced challenges in initiating and continuing therapy.