Abstract
The purpose of this study was to explore the family support services and family needs of students with intellectual disabilities in elementary schools in Taiwan. The participants were 528 parents in the Hao-Yuan, Hsin-Chu and Maio-Li Areas. The instrument employed six dimensions: “Spiritual support,” “Economic support,” “Information support,” “Professional service,” “Parents’ education,” and “Career planning.” The valid questionnaires were analyzed in terms of frequency distribution, mean, percentage, t-test, and ANOVA. The major findings were as follows: (1) The parents obtained “economic support” and “spiritual support” much more than other forms of support services. (2) The parents had a high level of need for all family support services, especially “career planning.” (3) Mothers’ educational backgrounds and jobs, and students’ grade level and handicapped status, were found to be the crucial factors associated with the family support services. In accordance with the results of this study, some suggestions were made to the school administrators and families, and suggestions for future research are also given.