Professionals’ Satisfaction with the Available Early Support Services, the Professional Role and the Support Provided to Children with Developmental Disabilities and Their Families

Aim: The objective of this research was to determine the satisfaction of professionals with early support services, professional role and support provided to families of children with developmental disabilities in Brod-Posavina and Istria counties. Subjects and Methods: The sample included 82 professionals from the fields of healthcare, social welfare, and early and preschool education, and a measuring instrument was designed for the purposes of this research. In the first part of the questionnaire, data on sociodemographic characteristics were collected, and in the second part, data on professionals’ satisfaction with early support services, satisfaction with their professional role and satisfaction with the support provided to families of children with disabilities. Results: The results show that most professionals are satisfied with the advisory support services of pediatricians from the health center, the inclusion of children with developmental disabilities in kindergarten and the advisory support of kindergarten teachers. A very small number of professionals express their satisfaction with telephone counseling, the service of a social pedagogue in Centre for Social Welfare, and an assistant in a kindergarten. It was identified that only self-assessment of knowledge about children with developmental disabilities is a significant positive predictor of satisfaction with the professional role (ß = 0.37, p < 0.01). Conclusion: It was also shown that professionals who have more knowledge are more satisfied with their professional role and the support they provide. Findings of this research suggested that quality education and knowledge can be key to achieving a high level of satisfaction with the professional role and the support provided.