Parent Teacher Collaboration: Teacher Perceptions of What Is Needed to Support Students with ASD in the Inclusive Classroom.
Positive parent professional collaboration is critical for the educational success of students with autism spectrum disorder (ASD) However, little is known about teacher perceptions of parent professional collaboration. Thirty four teachers participated in a qualitative study to gain a better understanding of teachers' perceptions of helpful parental involvement and advocacy strategies to ensure the success of students with ASD educated in inclusive settings. Through focus groups and interviews, teachers reported perceptions of parents ranging from too much involvement to not enough involvement, the importance of parental and student advocacy, and shared examples of positive parental advocacy. Implications for practice and directions for future research are discussed. As children and youth with autism spectrum disorder (ASD) are increasingly participating in inclusive education settings, the need for parent and professional collaboration is essential for students' success. The foundation of support for students is ongoing communication and collaboration between parents and teachers. Positive parent teacher collaboration benefits the family, educators, and students with disabilities (Bezdak, Summers, Turnbull, 2010; Turnbull, Zuna, Turnbull, Poston, Summers, 2007) In fact, research indicates parental involvement in schools is strongly linked to better student outcomes related to academics and involvement in organized groups and friendships (Newman, 2004) Moreover, federal mandates support parent involvement in developing, reviewing, and revising the child's individualized education program (IEP; Turnbull et al. 2007) and value parents as equal partners and informed decision makers in their child's education (e.g. the Individuals with Disabilities Education Improvement Act, 2004, and the No Child Left Behind Act, 2002) Research suggests that in the case of social skills of students with ASD, certain skills may be context specific making it necessary for parents and professionals to be involved in order to fully understand the student's abilities (Murray, Ruble, Willis, Molloy, 2009) Even though such partnerships are widely valued, establishing positive parent teacher partnerships can be difficult (Epstein, 2005) Research has found conflicting results in regards to parents' perceptions of parentteacher partnerships. For example, in a survey of parents of children with ASD, parents reported they felt resentment from school personnel and other parents (Starr Foy, 2010) Parents felt this resentment was often the result of the time and resources their child required from teachers. Further, many parents reported lack of communication and collaboration as a significant problem. On the other hand, strong communication and collaboration were reported by some parents as primary reasons for their satisfaction with their child's educational experience (Rodriquez et al. 2014) Correspondence concerning this article should be addressed to Tia R. Schultz, Department of Special Education, 5045 Winther Hall, University of Wisconsin Whitewater, Whitewater, WI 53190. E mail: schulttr@uww.edu Education and Training in Autism and Developmental Disabilities, 2016, 51(4) 344 354 (c) Division on Autism and Developmental Disabilities 344 Education and Training in Autism and Developmental Disabilities December 2016 Parents who were most satisfied with their child's educational services had children in younger grades (kindergarten to third grade) possibly indicating greater collaboration in early elementary school years compared to secondary school years. Similarly, parents of children with ASD in a study conducted by Stoner et al. (2005) echoed the need for frequent and open communication among teachers and parents. These parents further noted that negative communication and collaboration experiences resulted in a lack of trust of the educational professionals, which was difficult to regain. Parents reported feeling supported when they believed educators were knowledgeable about ASD, able to manage behaviors, and engaged in quality collaboration and communication with them (Starr Foy, 2012) The diagnostic process is a crucial time for potential collaboration. Unfortunately, parents have reported frustration due to their concerns not being heard, and needing to "fight" to be heard in order to begin the diagnostic process (Braiden, Bothwell, Duffy, 2010) Once the process begins some parents report feeling confused about the roles of the team members and what evaluations are done (Braiden et al. 2010) When a diagnosis is received, some parents report they were not given the information they needed about understanding ASD or the available services for their child (Osborne Reed, 2008) Parents often feel they have to search for information instead of having it provided by the professionals working with their child (Brown, Ouellette Kuntz, Hunter, Kelley, Cobigo, 2012; Glazard Overall, 2012) Another important time for collaboration is during the IEP process. While IEP meetings provide an opportunity for parents and educators to collaborate, research suggests families who participate in traditional IEP meetings have expressed their primary roles included listening and answering questions (Childre Chambers, 2005) When Childre and Chambers (2005) interviewed families about their experiences with traditional IEP meetings, families reported minimal collaboration with the school staff and feeling pressured to agree with preset agendas including student goals and educational placements (Childre Chambers, 2005) Further, in a study of parent perceptions of IEP meetings, parents reported inconsistency between their views and teachers' views regarding what practices should be implemented for their children and what services should be provided (Fish, 2006) Parents additionally reported they felt blamed for their child's academic and behavioral difficulties and expressed concern that teachers were unaware of the student's services and accommodations listed in the IEP. Parents voiced a desire for the IEP meeting to be more collaborative in nature so they could be equal contributors (Fish, 2006) Unfortunately, research indicates education professionals often do not view parents as equal partners. For example, Bezdek and colleagues (2010) interviewed educational professionals regarding their perceptions of partnerships with parents of children with disabilities and results indicated they wanted parents to be involved but only to a limited extent. In other words, education professionals desired families who supported their guidance about how to work with the child with disabilities, but did not value families who provided too much input on the supports they felt their child needed. While some of the professionals placed blame on families who did not follow through with suggested supports at home, others recognized that not all parents have the necessary time, knowledge, or skills to facilitate supports at home (Bezdek et al. 2010) Parents have noted strong parental involvement often depends on individual teachers, not the school system as a whole (Barclift, 2010) highlighting the importance of individual teachers in starting and sustaining collaboration with parents. Parent teacher collaboration can often be hindered by unfamiliar language during the IEP process, as many educators use educational jargon parents are unfamiliar with (Barclift, 2010) and language and cultural differences between the family and school personnel (Lo, 2009) Parent teacher collaboration and parental advocacy are integral to one another. Parents who have children with ASD have been noted in the literature as being strong advocates for their children. For example, Barclift (2010) interviewed 15 parents of children with ASD and provided examples of successful parental advocacy, including one participant who requested monthly meetings with the IEP team Parent Teacher Collaboration 345 because she felt the yearly IEP meeting did not provide sufficient information to keep her fully informed. Another parent noted "she felt she was the only voice her child had" (Barclift, 2010, p. 66) Parents need educators who are not only knowledgeable about their child's disability and evidence based interventions, but who will collaborate and advocate with them in order to best support their child. Planned parent professional partnerships within the school setting are necessary for increased parental involvement and advocacy (Epstein Jansorn, 2004) School personnel need to encourage and guide parents on how to become involved in their child's education (Epstein Jansorn, 2004) In fact, research has demonstrated that parent involvement is strongly correlated with teacher invitations (Anderson Minke, 2007) Moreover, communication between home and school predicted positive parent teacher relationships (Minke, Sheridan, Kim, Ryoo, Koziol, 2014) However, limited information is available regarding teachers' perceptions of parents of children with ASD and their views on parentteacher collaboration. More information is needed about teachers' perceptions of parents and how their beliefs impact parent teacher partnerships. Research supports the notion that collaborative parentteacher relationships can enhance the positive social and academic outcomes for children and youth with ASD (Turnbull et al. 2007) However, more information is needed to help understand and confront the barriers of parent professional collaboration to promote positive outcomes for children and youth with ASD in our schools. Thus, the focus of this study was to gain an understanding of teachers' perceptions of helpful parental involvement and advocacy strategies for ensuring students' with ASD success in inclusive school settings.