Using ethnodrama to support parents in sense‐making after prenatal or neonatal diagnosis of a child's disabling condition

• Published in: Journal of applied research in intellectual disabilities 2022-01, Vol.35 (1), p.261-270
• Main Authors: Eaton, Jacqueline, Cheek‐O'Donnell, Sydney, Johnson, Erin, Clark, Lauren
• Format: Article
• Language: English
• Subjects: Adaptation; Child; Children; Children with disabilities; Clinical Diagnosis; Developmental Disabilities; Down Syndrome; Drama; ethnodrama; Ethnography; Family; Grounded theory; Humans; Infant, Newborn; Intellectual disabilities; Intellectual Disability; Medical diagnosis; Newborn babies; Parent Education; parenting; Parents; Parents & parenting; Prenatal care; sense‐making; Technology Uses in Education; Video Technology; video vignettes; Vignettes
• ISSN: 1360-2322; 1468-3148
• DOI: 10.1111/jar.12945

Background/Aims This study describes the process of developing video vignettes to meet the parent‐expressed need for balanced, meaningful messages about what life may be like for parents who have a child with a disability. Each vignette teaches a general audience salient concepts derived from a grounded theory of the parental process of Rescuing Hope after a child's diagnosis with a developmental disability. Methods Using ethnodrama methodology, we completed a secondary analysis of 21 interviews with parents who learned of their child's diagnosis of Down syndrome. Results Understanding the grounded theory of Rescuing Hope has the potential to help parents construct meaning and purpose as they adapt to parenting a child with a disability. Discussion The short dramatic vignettes may be placed across platforms, settings and partnerships, with relevance for teachers, clinicians, family members, caregivers. Designed for wide distribution, video vignettes may reach the people who most need sense‐making support.