Parents play a significant role in the development and academic progress especially among the children with Autism Spectrum Disorders because they require more care and attention as compared to other children of the same age. This study was done to investigate the parents’ experiences in making educational decisions for their children with autism and their satisfaction with said outcomes. Parents were asked to complete a survey by describing their input in educational decisions, satisfaction with school personnel, and satisfaction with their child’s school experience. Sequential regressions were used to analyze the data which revealed parents’ satisfaction was generally predicted by their own knowledge of autism, school staff knowledge of autism, parent satisfaction with teachers, and parent relationships with school personnel. In addition, parent input was a significant predictor of satisfaction with their child’s school experience.

The study concluded through its findings that the open-ended responses indicated that parents experienced many barriers when working with schools and often felt compelled to go outside of the school system to ensure their children received an appropriate education. Implications for teacher preparation and school–parent partnerships are described.

Reference: https://journals.sagepub.com/doi/full/10.1177/1088357619842858

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