Author
Vice B. Villanueva*
University of Perpetual Help System-DALTA, Las Piňas City, Philippines
Abstract
Despite the Philippines’ commitment to inclusive education, implementation in public schools often remains insufficient, leaving parents of children with special education needs to endure persistent policy and practical gaps. This study explored the lived experiences of five parents of children diagnosed with autism in Las Piñas during the academic year 2025–2026, concentrating on how they construct meaning, demonstrate resilience, and exercise moral leadership in caregiving. Guided by Family Systems Theory and analyzed through Braun and Clarke’s Reflexive Thematic Analysis, the research revealed seven interrelated themes: rhythms of care as emotional order, love that carries as ethical labor, silent pedagogy as compassion under pressure, belonging as circles of help, lives re-arranged through adaptive sacrifice, uneven paths of inequity, and moral protest as quiet advocacy. These narratives described how parents transform fatigue into reform and compassion into leadership, redesigning the parameters of policy through everyday persistence. The study culminated in the Villanueva Framework for SPED, which describes caregiving as a moral rhythm sustaining inclusion through values-driven care, reflection, empathy, and faith. Findings highlight that genuine inclusion cannot be attained only through bureaucratic design but must be anchored in the ethical intelligence of families, reminding educational systems that justice in education must first be humane.
Keywords: Caregiving, Family Systems Theory, inclusive education, reflexive thematic analysis, Villanueva Framework for SPED.
*Corresponding author / Email: vicevillanueva.dlalp@gmail.com
DOI: http://doi.org/10.69651/PIJHSS05041651
Recommended citation:
Villanueva, V. B. (2026). A journey of love and resilience: Lived experiences of parents raising children with special education needs. Pantao (International Journal of the Humanities and Social Sciences) 5 (4), 1138-1159. http://doi.org/10.69651/PIJHSS05041651
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