Examining the impact of parents' and teachers' attitudes towards children with specific learning disabilities (SLD)

Specific learning disorder is a condition that emerges during the neurodevelopmental process, initially manifesting in academic domains, but eventually affecting children also in social and emotional aspects. This study investigated the impact of parents' and teachers' attitudes towards children with specific learning disabilities (SLD). A total of 411 participants took part in the study, including 208 parents and 203 teachers. The data for this study were obtained by having the parents of children diagnosed with dyslexia complete the 'Adult Parental Acceptance-Rejection Questionnaire Short Form.' Teachers, on the other hand, were asked to complete the 'Beck Anxiety Inventory' and a personal information form. The data were collected using two methods: in-person through face-to-face interviews and electronically via the 'Google Forms' tool. Demographic variables and attitude scale scores were analyzed for both parents and teachers. All statistical analyses were carried out using the JASP software (version 0.18.1.0) and SPSS (version 25). Based on the results of the study, it was concluded that the acceptance-rejection measurement tools and their subdimensions followed a normal distribution, and parametric statistics were applied in the analysis of differences. The variable of the acceptance and rejection subscale used for parents indicates that many parents have a moderate level of affection, while some parents exhibit a lower level of affection. The hostility variable shows that parents generally display low to moderate levels of hostility, while some parents exhibit significantly higher levels of hostility. The neglect variable indicates that the vast majority of parents exhibit a level of neglect close to the average. The undifferentiated rejection variable shows that parents reflect a low level of rejection towards their children, although some parents exhibit even lower levels of rejection. The acceptance/rejection mean indicates that parents exhibit an accepting attitude towards their children. The anxiety scale used for teachers indicates that they have a moderate level of anxiety Based on the data obtained in this study, it is believed that the findings will contribute to future research on parental and teacher attitudes toward children with specific learning disabilities.