Partners in School: Optimizing Communication between Parents and Teachers of Children with Autism Spectrum Disorder

Azad, Gazi; Marcus, Steven C.; Mandell, David S.

doi:10.1080/10474412.2020.1830100

Cited by 25 publications

(20 citation statements)

References 48 publications

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“…Krakovich et al (2016) found that for families of autistic children, decreased parental stress was associated with parents perceiving teachers as more supportive, leading to stronger parent-teacher bonds. In addition, research suggests that parents and teachers of autistic students are sensitive to the stress the other party is feeling and can be uncertain about asking for deeper engagement (Azad, Wolk, et al, 2018). More research is needed to more fully understand how parental stress and parent-teacher relationship quality relate to each other.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Parenting stress and autistic children’s emotional problems relate to family-school partnerships and parent mental health.

McIntyre¹,

Santiago²,

Sutherland³

et al. 2023

School Psychology

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Dimensions of family–school partnerships, including parent–teacher relationship quality and family educational involvement, are associated with positive outcomes for youth. Family–school partnerships are important for autistic youth, who may particularly benefit from cross-setting supports. Coordinated family–school partnerships may help maximize child outcomes. This study investigated the extent to which child behavioral and physical health (emotional, behavioral, and medical problems) and parent mental health (parenting stress, parent mental health history, and parent depressive symptoms) were associated with parent–teacher relationship quality and family involvement in a sample of 68 families of school-aged autistic children. Families were recruited through invitation letters disseminated at local early intervention and early childhood programs. Children in the sample were primarily boys, primarily White, and approximately 8 years old. Results suggest that (a) child emotional problems and parenting stress were negatively associated with parent–teacher relationship quality (large effects) and (b) parent history of mental health problems was negatively associated with family involvement (large effect). Intervention recommendations and future research directions are discussed. For example, it would be helpful for future research to include the perspectives of ethnically diverse samples when examining family–school partnerships among families with autistic children.

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Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Parenting stress and autistic children’s emotional problems relate to family-school partnerships and parent mental health.

McIntyre¹,

Santiago²,

Sutherland³

et al. 2023

School Psychology

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show abstract

“…The lack of knowledge about how to promote effective parent–teacher partnerships is especially concerning in the context of Somali migrant parents of autistic children since they are likely to be confronted by multiple challenges; challenges which can lead to poor collaboration between home and school and a lack of confidence and trust in teachers (Azad et al, 2021; Lilley, 2019; McNerney et al, 2015). Some of these challenges are related to those faced by all migrant parents, such as language barriers, fewer social supports and unfamiliarity with education systems and teaching approaches (Haines et al, 2018; Jegathessan, 2009; Lai & Ishyama, 2004; Wang & Casillas, 2012).…”

Section: Parent–teacher Partnershipsmentioning

confidence: 99%

‘Somali parents feel like they’re on the outer’: Somali mothers’ experiences of parent–teacher relationships for their autistic children

Smith

Rabba

Ali

et al. 2023

Autism

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Effective parent–teacher partnerships can improve outcomes for autistic students. Yet, we know little about what effective partnerships look like for parents of autistic children from diverse backgrounds. Using participatory methods, we conducted semi-structured interviews with 15 Somali mothers of autistic children attending Australian kindergartens/schools to understand experiences of parent–teacher interactions. We used reflexive thematic analysis to identify key themes. We found that mothers were proud and accepting of their children. They had high expectations, particularly around children’s independence. Mothers wished their children’s differences were understood and supported by other people, including teachers. They were frustrated by low expectations of children, a lack of genuine communication from teachers and limited autism-specific knowledge, skills and experience within schools. They described racist attitudes towards their children and reported that they themselves had experienced stigma. They also had few sources of support to rely upon, although their non-autistic daughters and their faith were important foundations for resilience. Despite all of these challenges, mothers themselves were increasing community awareness and knowledge about autism in the hope that they and their children would be valued by others. Our work has implications for how teachers and schools can foster successful relationships with Somali parents of autistic children. Lay abstract Good relationships between parents and schools can improve autistic children’s school success. There are many reasons why families from different cultural backgrounds find it harder to develop good relationships with schools, such as language barriers, discrimination and unfamiliarity with education systems. We know little about what ‘good relationships’ look like for these families. Here, we worked with a team of autistic and non-autistic researchers as well as an Advisory Group of Somali parents to conduct interviews with 15 Somali mothers of kindergarten and school-age autistic children. We asked mothers about their experiences of their child’s education, communication with teachers and what a good relationship with schools would look like. We also asked how they felt the Somali community understood autism. We looked for common things that mothers said. We found that mothers were very proud of their children. They had high expectations, particularly about what children could do by themselves. Mothers found it frustrating that teachers had low expectations, that schools were not good at communicating with them and that autism-specific skills and experience were uncommon in schools. They also reported racist attitudes towards their children. Mothers experienced stigma and lacked resources, but support was gained from their daughters and their religion. Mothers themselves were proactively increasing community awareness and knowledge about autism in the hope that they and their autistic children would be valued and better supported. Our work has implications for how teachers and schools can work together with Somali parents to forge better futures for autistic children.

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“…The formulation of the IEP, for example, is a medium of communication between schools and parents, a medium for dialogue between schools and parents, and a medium for parental involvement in arranging educational programs for their children. Consultation services have been suggested by Azad et al, (2020) as a means to improve communication between teachers and parents.…”

Section: The Role Of Parents In Worship Educationmentioning

confidence: 99%

Religious Instruction for Students with Autism in an Inclusive Primary School

Hakiman¹,

Sumardjoko

Waston

2021

IJLTER

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This study describes religious instruction for students with autism conveyed by classroom teachers, Islamic Education teachers, shadow teachers, and parents through a mentoring program in school and family environments. This qualitative phenomenological study was carried out in an inclusive primary school in Surakarta, Central Java, Indonesia. Five students with autism and their parents, five classroom teachers, five shadow teachers, and three Islamic Education teachers were involved in this study. Data were collected through in-depth interviews, participant observation, documentation, and focus group discussions (FGDs). They were analyzed using interpretative phenomenological analysis and an interactive approach. This study reveals that optimal outcomes of religious instruction entail collaboration among Islamic Education teachers, classroom teachers, shadow teachers, and parents with the assistance of psychologists, counsellors, therapists, pedagogues, and school policies. Such collaboration is particularly required in the implementation of an adaptive curriculum, lesson plans, learning implementation, evaluation, mentoring and the habituation of worship. The modification of learning methods, media, and evaluation is also required.

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Partners in School: Optimizing Communication between Parents and Teachers of Children with Autism Spectrum Disorder

Cited by 25 publications

References 48 publications

Parenting stress and autistic children’s emotional problems relate to family-school partnerships and parent mental health.

Parenting stress and autistic children’s emotional problems relate to family-school partnerships and parent mental health.

‘Somali parents feel like they’re on the outer’: Somali mothers’ experiences of parent–teacher relationships for their autistic children

Religious Instruction for Students with Autism in an Inclusive Primary School

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