The Impact of COVID-19 Pandemic in Family Communication on Families with Children with Disabilities

Abstract

The spread of the COVID-19 virus in Indonesia has caused changes in all aspects of life that affect family situations, especially families with children with disabilities. The purpose of this study was to obtain information about the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on family interactions with children with disabilities. A sampling of 361 families with visually impaired children from five cities in West Java using cluster sampling. They responded to questionnaires about family communication, parenting roles, and changes in family activities. The results show that most families of children with disabilities are involved in supportive contact with advice, communication that includes feelings, communication that adjusts attitudes and provides solutions. Parents' philosophy in parenting is mainly related to resolving difficulties, rules and compliance, maintaining cohesiveness, building trust, avoiding conflict, and establishing physical closeness. The impact of the pandemic was experienced by 82% of families in changes in physical and emotional conditions and 75.9% changes in routine activities. The results of correlation analysis showed that family communication was negatively related to changes in family social activities (p<.001) and physical and emotional changes (p<.01). It is recommended that family communication management increase family resilience in caring for children with disabilities during the pandemic.