Experiences of Parents of Children with ASD: Implications for Inclusive Parental Engagement

Abstract

Despite the documented benefits of engaging parents in their children's education, some parents become marginalized due to the ways parental engagement is conceptualized and implemented in schools. The purpose of this study is to examine the experience of parents who have children with autism spectrum disorder (ASD) as they try to engage in their children's education. As a result of this hermeneutic phenomenological work, we first explored two major themes: parental engagement as demanding work and searching for partnership while coping with marginalization. Then a third theme were explored focusing on the overarching meaning of their experiences. Our findings show that parental engagement has been a highly demanding and overwhelming responsibility for these parents, and they experienced a sense of isolation and marginalization in school environments. At the intersection of research focusing on inclusive education, home-school partnership, and school leadership, we discuss implications for educators, policy makers, and teacher preparation programs.