Families of children with autism spectrum disorder (ASD) often utilize a variety of services. Relatively few studies have examined the relationship between family empowerment and service utilization for this population. The present study investigated the relationship between family empowerment and service utilization in families of children with…

With a rapidly increasing number of Latinx students in a special education system that requires parent advocacy, it is imperative to study the perspectives Latinx families have on how to improve family-school partnerships. In this research, semi-structured interviews with 10 Latinx mothers who have children with disabilities led to insights about…

Patient-oriented research engages patients and caregivers as partners contributing to all phases of the research process. This was the goal of the Strongest Families Institute Neurodevelopmental research, in Halifax, Nova Scotia, when they included a parent advisory committee, made up of parents and caregivers of children and adolescents with a…

We systematically reviewed research on interventions designed to increase service access for children with special healthcare needs through family empowerment, defined as caregiver's knowledge, attitudes, and behaviors to meet their family's needs. The purpose was to describe these interventions, evaluate the evidence, and understand their…

Empowerment is a core construct in health behavior and an emerging trend in pediatrics. Although it has been suggested as an approach that may promote the person's participation in health care decisions and positive outcomes, little is known about the nature and effectiveness of interventions to support empowerment in families and preschool-age…

Parent-to-Parent individualized mentoring is an understudied strategy that has potential for supporting parents of children with disabilities as they learn to navigate the special educational planning process. Preliminary findings from a formative evaluation of individualized, intensive parent-to-parent mentoring services are shared. Data were…

Within the North American public education system, institutionalised structures of schooling often prevent teachers from aligning their values with their practice when it comes to environmental education (Bowers, 1997; Weston, 2004). In response to this, this article will outline our lived experiences, as teachers and researcher, in disrupting the…

It is known that formal and informal educational support resources for what parents can do about the development of their children and how they can cope with the difficulties encountered after diagnosing individuals with ASD are insufficient. Therefore, this research was conducted to evaluate the effect of the education program developed for…

The unique role of parents and caregivers of students with disabilities has led to the incorporation of parent involvement as one of the six foundational principles of the Individuals With Disabilities Education Act (IDEA). Despite this vision of parent involvement within IDEA, families often feel as if they are passive recipients of special…

Parental stress increased during the COVID-19 pandemic. Families with children with an intellectual or developmental disability (IDD) and extensive support needs--such as complex communication needs--experienced additional challenges, including service loss and difficulties accessing virtual learning. The purpose of this study was to understand…

The purpose of this article is to explore family-oriented partnership models to engage families of young children with disabilities in inclusive programmes. Family engagement is important for the education of children of all ages, but it is especially critical for the success of young children with disabilities in inclusive settings. However, the…

This study tested an integrated package for high-quality school mental health (SMH) services involving quality assessment and improvement, family engagement and empowerment, modular evidence-based practice, and implementation support. Within a two-year randomized controlled trial, 35 clinicians, who provided services to 529 students and their…

Collaborative goal setting is recognized as a hallmark of good practice in early intervention (EI). This qualitative study describes mothers' and practitioners' perceptions of the utility of the Family Goal Setting Tool: Autism Spectrum Disorder Version (FGST: ASD Version), which supports family identification and prioritization of goals and…

Recently, the authors' district reconfigured the program for deaf and hard of hearing students, combining the Total Communication (TC) and Listening and Spoken Language (LSL) programs for elementary students and relocating students and staff into a single school. This prompted staff to reflect on and discuss the pedagogy unique to each program.…

Transformative approaches are essential for teachers, researchers, and teacher educators to rethink their identities and roles and to position themselves as both collaborators with and learners from immigrant families and communities. In this article, we share how Transformational Theory and Critical Participatory Action Research (CPAR) creates…