Parents of children with both cortical visual impairment (CVI) and complex communication needs offer unique perspectives on their children's journeys to receiving proper diagnoses, supports, and interventions, such as augmentative and alternative communication (AAC). This study explored the lived experiences, supports, and barriers identified by…

Embracing parental advocacy is pivotal in navigating the challenges associated with autism spectrum disorder (ASD). Such challenges include stress, stigmas, educational challenges, and access to support and services. This study's purpose was to examine parents' and adult primary caregivers' perspectives when advocating for an individual with ASD.…

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…

Early support should help autistic children lead flourishing lives. We sought to understand parents' experiences of their children's involvement in early intervention and associated research, through focus groups with 23 parents (of 22 children) enrolled in a university-affiliated service. Reflexive thematic analysis revealed four themes. Parents…

Educational attainment is closely associated with health. The objective is to explore the extent to which children and adolescents with congenital heart disease (CHD) are afforded the same educational and socialization opportunities as their healthy peers. We used a qualitative phenomenological design with convenience sampling. Data gathered 27…

The transition from preschool to primary school is a pivotal developmental period in children's and their families' lives. However, not all families have equal access to resources and some parents face additional barriers to the types of transition and school readiness activities they participate in compared families with higher social capital.…

This study evaluates an intervention program that uses mobile learning, designed for Israeli Arab hearing-impaired elementary school students, focused on language and mathematics. Participants included 23 hearing-impaired students, 39 teachers, and 46 parents. The evaluation combined quantitative and qualitative methods, using questionnaires,…

The success of all school-age children relies heavily on active engagement between caregivers and school communities (Francis et al., 2016). Meaningful parent-school partnerships involve reciprocal relationships that build on each other's expertise and are based on good communication, professional competence, advocacy, commitment, equality, and…

Due to systemic barriers, Spanish-speaking (versus English-speaking) parents of children with disabilities are less likely to participate in educational decision-making. However, little research has directly compared special education experiences between both populations. The purpose of this study was to explore the differences and similarities…

Due to systemic barriers, Spanish-speaking (versus English-speaking) parents of children with disabilities are less likely to participate in educational decision-making. However, little research has directly compared special education experiences between both populations. The purpose of this study was to explore the differences and similarities…

Compared to White families, Latino families of children with autism spectrum disorder (ASD) face systemic barriers when accessing services for their children. Although there is research about systemic barriers among Latino families, less is known about how Latino and White families differ with respect to special education knowledge, family-school…

Despite 40 years of research indicating that parent involvement is important for student achievement, schools have done little to engage parents across Canada. This study and model recommend strategies to enhance the probability of educational involvement for parents who do not speak the school language. The mixed methods research with surveys (N…

Families are the primary clients of public schools, but they are one of many constituencies who have a say in how schools actually operate. In all the technocratic fervor around "education reform"--the broad effort to implement standards and accountability, reform teacher tenure and evaluation, and increase parental choice--it is easy to…

No Child left Behind, The ESEA Flexibility Program, and the Race to the Top contest have spurred a multitude of School Improvement programs, businesses, initiatives and more. The current emphasis on standardized testing, data gathering and analysis, and measuring effective schooling has caused many education agencies, state and local, to seek…

Research demonstrates that parental involvement can have a positive impact on students' academic, emotional, and social success; however, there are few studies of how to improve parent advocacy and home-school collaboration in special education. The focus of this qualitative case study was to understand perceptions of the special educators…