ABSTRACT
Internationally, it has been recognized that parent involvement is an essential component of the special education process for children with intellectual and/or developmental disabilities (IDD). Parent involvement often includes parents advocating for their children. However, many parents face barriers when advocating to obtain appropriate special education services for their children with IDD. In the United States, Latinx families face greater systemic barriers (e.g., language and cultural differences) to access services for their own children with IDD. To this end, parents may turn to parent advocacy training programs to learn about special education and feel empowered to advocate for school services for their own children and other families of children with disabilities. Yet, it is unclear how Latinx families advocate for services for their own children and for other Latinx families of children with disabilities after attending an advocacy program. We designed a study to explore the advocacy experiences of eight Latinx families one year after attending an advocacy program. Participants reported that they used three advocacy strategies when advocating for their own children with disabilities: knowledge of special education law, non‐adversarial advocacy strategies, and requests for data. Notably, some participants reported not having an advocacy experience due to the COVID‐19 pandemic. Implications for research and practice are discussed.
ABSTRACT
Internationally, it has been recognized that parent involvement is an essential component of the special education process for children with intellectual and/or developmental disabilities (IDD). Parent involvement often includes parents advocating for their children. However, many parents face barriers when advocating to obtain appropriate special education services for their children with IDD. In the United States, Latinx families face greater systemic barriers (e.g., language and cultural differences) to access services for their own children with IDD. To this end, parents may turn to parent advocacy training programs to learn about special education and feel empowered to advocate for school services for their own children and other families of children with disabilities. Yet, it is unclear how Latinx families advocate for services for their own children and for other Latinx families of children with disabilities after attending an advocacy program. We designed a study to explore the advocacy experiences of eight Latinx families one year after attending an advocacy program. Participants reported that they used three advocacy strategies when advocating for their own children with disabilities: knowledge of special education law, non‐adversarial advocacy strategies, and requests for data. Notably, some participants reported not having an advocacy experience due to the COVID‐19 pandemic. Implications for research and practice are discussed. [ FROM AUTHOR] Copyright of Journal of Policy & Practice in Intellectual Disabilities is the property of Wiley-Blackwell and its content may not be copied or emailed to multiple sites or posted to a listserv without the copyright holder's express written permission. However, users may print, download, or email articles for individual use. This may be abridged. No warranty is given about the accuracy of the copy. Users should refer to the original published version of the material for the full . (Copyright applies to all s.)