Burden of the Care Givers of Mentally Retarded Children

The disintegration of joint family system has made the family units smaller and the rate of marriage breakdown has increased. In the same period, with the technological advance in medicine, the survival of children with disabilities has risen. It has been estimated that about 10 per cent of children experience developmental disorders requiring access to the health care system and extensive care giving, often throughout childhood and into the adult years. Communitybased care settings may serve to increase demands on family members, it is essential to be more active participants in the care of their child. This present study was carried out to assess the burden experienced by the care givers of disabled children. Purposive sampling method was adopted to collect data from 50 respondents. Descriptive research design was used and the results indicated that less than half of the respondents (44%) have high level of burden and majority of the care givers are female.