ERIC Number: EJ1152461
Record Type: Journal
Publication Date: 2017-Sep
Pages: 11
Abstractor: As Provided
ISBN: N/A
ISSN: ISSN-1088-3576
EISSN: N/A
Finding Common Ground: Exploring Undergraduate Student Volunteering as a Support for Parents of Children with Autism
Breithaupt, Andrew G.; Thomas, Kathleen C.; Wong, Connie S.; Mesibov, Gary B.; Morrissey, Joseph P.
Focus on Autism and Other Developmental Disabilities, v32 n3 p229-239 Sep 2017
There are many unmet needs among parents of children with autism for parent respite and social time for their children. The use of undergraduate student volunteers is a potential strategy for meeting some of these needs. Separate focus groups for parents and for undergraduates were convened to assess feasibility, comfort, reservations, and mutual interest in this approach. Both parents and students identified common ground over undergraduate volunteer services, and described the boundaries of participation within which they felt comfortable. Findings suggest that student-provided respite care is a feasible support for parents raising children with autism and for students seeking volunteer and career-orientation experiences.
Descriptors: Undergraduate Students, Volunteers, Parents, Children, Autism, Electronic Mail, Focus Groups, Qualitative Research, Parent Student Relationship, Pervasive Developmental Disorders, Grounded Theory
SAGE Publications and Hammill Institute on Disabilities. 2455 Teller Road, Thousand Oaks, CA 91320. Tel: 800-818-7243; Tel: 805-499-9774; Fax: 800-583-2665; e-mail: journals@sagepub.com; Web site: http://bibliotheek.ehb.be:2814
Publication Type: Journal Articles; Reports - Research; Tests/Questionnaires
Education Level: Higher Education
Audience: N/A
Language: English
Sponsor: N/A
Authoring Institution: N/A
Identifiers - Location: North Carolina
Grant or Contract Numbers: N/A