Influence of Learning Disabilities on Parents of Children with Physical Disability: Counselling Implications

the study assessed the social and financial burden on parents of children with physical disability and its counseling implications. The study was a cross-sectional one conducted in all special education secondary schools in Nasarawa State, Nigeria, with a purposive sample size of 70 students. Two instruments designed by the researcher were used for the study, as follows: Social Burden Scale (SBS) and interview technique for parents. Simple percentages were used for data analysis. The results show that parents have to bear huge financial liabilities, over and above that of rearing normal children. The financial burden made the parents more impoverished and indebted. Based on the findings, it was recommended, among others, that urgent support for activities of the physically disabled children at the secondary school level should be put in place in order to curb the huge economic and social burden of caregiving; efforts should be made to strengthen the existing schemes for the disabled, with a special focus on the parents working in the unorganized sector; NGOs, CBOs, and Disability Rehabilitation Centres should be reinvigorated to play active roles in popularizing and facilitating their utilization; trained psychologist should be recruited in all secondary schools and counseling should form an integral part of rehabilitation