A qualitative methodology was employed to provide descriptive information about families’ decision-making experiences, with both phenomenological and grounded theory approaches used to examine data generated through semi structured interviews. Both the descriptive and summative information provide a framework for understanding and integrating the complex factors that shape family experiences throughout the decision-making process. The results reflect a family-centered view of the process of decision-making, informing early interventionists and professional training programs, with the potential to shape best-practices.
Method
Participants
Families were recruited through three early intervention (Part C) coordinators and four mid-Atlantic early …show more content…
Eleven items were presented as a list including the child’s language development, ability to make friends, success in school, and ability to bond. Items were selected based on the literature review and responses from a focus group of families. Participants were asked to identify the three items that were most important, and the three items that were least important. This forced choice task was an expansion of the approach used by Steinberg and her team (2000) to examine priorities in family decision-making. The task was used as a catalyst for discussion similarly to as participants were asked to describe their ratings, providing the opportunity to identify possible associations among families’ priorities and decisions within the context of a semi-structured …show more content…
The face-to-face semi-structured interviews explored the family’s perspective on each of three decisions (communication, technology, and services). The purpose of the interview was to obtain a description of how families made the trio of targeted decisions using a systematic format that allowed comparison and contrast and highlighted relationships between decisions. Families were asked a series of open-ended questions about how they made decisions (e.g., to choose a cochlear implant, to use sign language), and were probed with follow-up questions relating to how information was obtained, feelings about the decision, comfort with the process, and predictions for how their decisions might change over time. At the end of the interviews the families reflected on their decision-making process as a whole, and the influence of each of the decisions upon subsequent choices. They also commented on their comfort level and sense of “ownership” within the decision-making process. Interview questions, as well as the Family Rating of Perspectives and Family Ratings of Child Priorities instruments were piloted in a trial with a non-participant family prior to use in the
Method
Participants
Families were recruited through three early intervention (Part C) coordinators and four mid-Atlantic early …show more content…
Eleven items were presented as a list including the child’s language development, ability to make friends, success in school, and ability to bond. Items were selected based on the literature review and responses from a focus group of families. Participants were asked to identify the three items that were most important, and the three items that were least important. This forced choice task was an expansion of the approach used by Steinberg and her team (2000) to examine priorities in family decision-making. The task was used as a catalyst for discussion similarly to as participants were asked to describe their ratings, providing the opportunity to identify possible associations among families’ priorities and decisions within the context of a semi-structured …show more content…
The face-to-face semi-structured interviews explored the family’s perspective on each of three decisions (communication, technology, and services). The purpose of the interview was to obtain a description of how families made the trio of targeted decisions using a systematic format that allowed comparison and contrast and highlighted relationships between decisions. Families were asked a series of open-ended questions about how they made decisions (e.g., to choose a cochlear implant, to use sign language), and were probed with follow-up questions relating to how information was obtained, feelings about the decision, comfort with the process, and predictions for how their decisions might change over time. At the end of the interviews the families reflected on their decision-making process as a whole, and the influence of each of the decisions upon subsequent choices. They also commented on their comfort level and sense of “ownership” within the decision-making process. Interview questions, as well as the Family Rating of Perspectives and Family Ratings of Child Priorities instruments were piloted in a trial with a non-participant family prior to use in the