Difficulty learning to read presents many struggles for children and their families, and evaluation of parental perspectives of the dyslexia assessment process within the United States represents an under-researched area. This study sought to investigate how parental perspectives change during their child's dyslexia assessment. Six hundred one parents of children experiencing reading difficulties provided both Likert scale and open-ended responses to an online survey regarding their experiences throughout the dyslexia assessment and diagnosis process. Participants' responses were analyzed through thematic coding, sentiment analysis, and regression analysis. Parent perspectives were largely positive but revealed three important areas for investigation: shift in parental perspectives and lifestyles, assessment timelines, and parental advocacy and support. The assessment timeline predicted parental satisfaction. Results indicate a desire for clarity in the assessment process and ongoing needs for advocacy, support, and intervention. Implications for educational assessments, parent/family support, and suggestions for future research are discussed.

Social integration (i.e., feeling a sense of belonging, involvement, support, or connectedness) is an important factor in university student retention, especially among students of color from underrepresented groups. Despite theoretical models and correlational evidence pointing to the relevance of these social experiences, few studies have attempted to experimentally increase social integration and, subsequently, retention. In this randomized experimental study, we used a brief, structured closeness-induction task to promote peer connections among undergraduate students and found that the closeness-induction task, compared to a small-talk task, was effective in boosting retention, especially among students of color. This research suggests that structured interactions could be an effective strategy for universities to encourage retention of students from underrepresented groups.