Date of Graduation

5-2012

Document Type

Thesis

Degree Name

Bachelor of Science Education

Degree Level

Undergraduate

Department

Rehabilitation, Human Resources and Communication Disorders

Advisor/Mentor

McGehee, Marilyn

Committee Member/Reader

Hagstrom, Fran

Committee Member/Second Reader

Aslin, Larry

Abstract

The purpose of this study was to determine parental perspectives on the use of online social networking sites by young adults with Down syndrome (DS), specifically how they rate their adult child’s (AC) communicative success, how they view the social implications surrounding social network use, and what value they think social networking has in AC’s day-to-day life. Parents of young adults with DS and access to an online social network were sought to complete a 3 part, online questionnaire. Three parents responded to the questionnaire, and responses given determined that parents consider their AC to be able to communicate via social networking sites without becoming dependent, that parents respond differently to issues of safety and regulation, and that parents consider these sites beneficial for a variety of reasons.

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