| Abstract [eng] |
The relationship between children and parents is similar to social partnership. Parents‘ role is very important when dealing with problems that children with special needs face. Bearing a child with special needs makes a big difference in the family. The constant care and supervision of a child often causes tension in the family, then the lack of emotional help is especially felt, and parents cannot satisfy their basic social and psychological needs. Parents are the central and most important link in the care and education of a child with special needs. Despite this crucial role, the scientific literature shows an underestimation of their importance, with most research focusing on children with special needs, leaving their parents aside (Kandel, & Merrick, 2003). The object of this study is perceived loneliness and personal experience of dance-movement therapy of mothers of children with special needs. The aim of the study was to reveal the experience of dance-movement therapy of mothers of children with special needs and to find out whether dance-movement therapy reduces the loneliness experienced by this target group. The study was conducted in September-November of 2021. The design of the study was convergent-parallel, so the data collected during the study were analyzed both quantitatively and qualitatively. To answer the question of whether dance-movement therapy helps to reduce the loneliness experienced by mothers of children with special needs, the Lithuanian translation of the UCLA loneliness scale variant 3 (Russel, 1996) was used. Semi-structured observation and semi-structured group interviews were conducted to unravel special needs children mothers‘ experience of dance-movement therapy. Evaluation of loneliness scale questions before and after experience of dance-movement therapy confirms a statistically significant decrease in loneliness (p <0.001). Thus, participation in dance-movement therapy reduces the loneliness experienced by mothers of children with special needs. Thanks to the thematic analysis, the following topics are revealed, reflecting the experience of dance-movement therapy of mothers of children with special needs: therapeutic group of mothers of special children: communion and acceptance that help to open up; wider self-experience and finding one's identity; the new self in relation to the environment: clearly defined boundaries and priority for oneself; the uniqueness and therapeutic power of dance-movement therapy. |
