Enhancing Collaborative Leadership Among Parents of Children With Disabilities

Abstract

Parent involvement and leadership have evolved over time and carry different meanings within various educational contexts in the United States. In special education, parent involvement includes the roles that parents of children with disabilities play in the development of their children’s Individualized Education Programs (IEPs), as well as in leadership and policy development and evaluation. In spite of the purported benefits of parent leadership in educational planning and policy, little research has been conducted on models that intentionally build critical skills and leadership opportunities among parents of children with disabilities. This article describes results associated with a leadership development project known as “Parents as Collaborative Leaders” (PACL) in which parents from across the United States participated in a leadership curriculum and individualized internship experiences at the local, state, and national levels. Participants reported a number of positive outcomes, including skills and experiences gained through curriculum and internship experiences, increased participation in leadership and policy activities, increased networking and relationships, and a sense of leading for a larger purpose. The article describes the development and implementation of the PACL model, outcomes associated with a subset of participants, and implications for policy and practice.

Policy Change Through Parent and Consumer Leadership Education

“…While Grenweldge and Zhang (2012) found that structured training led to an increase in advocacy-related knowledge, the present study found that participation in advocacy activities also increased. The finding regarding increases in clarity of vision and in activities such as serving on community boards and committees and speaking out in public are closely aligned with Shepherd and Kervick’s (2016)finding that advocacy training increases personal growth and confidence and tends to expand in scope for many participants beyond an initial concern for one or more individuals to a broader focus on policy and systems issues.…”

“…They found that program participants reported higher advocacy-related knowledge than a matched control group. Shepherd and Kervick (2016) evaluated the outcomes of the Parents as Collaborative Leaders project, which provided leadership training and individualized internship experiences to parents at the local, state, and national levels. Qualitative analysis of interview data from a subset of 12 participants found significant positive outcomes were reported including new skills, improved networking and collaboration, and an increase in leadership and policy activities.…”

Parent perceptions of literacy learning of their young children on the autism spectrum in their first year of schooling

“…Parents of children on the autism spectrum can provide insight on their child’s strengths and vulnerabilities, which can be utilised by teachers to tailor learning experiences (Volkmar et al., 2014). Extensive evidence exists for the effectiveness of active parental involvement in improving academic and social outcomes for students with disabilities (Shepherd & Kervick, 2016) and it is now commonly acknowledged that parental involvement is a crucial ‘best practice’ in the education of students with ASDs. However processes are seldom operationalised and sustained (Azad & Mandell, 2016).…”

Benefits and limits of peer support for mothers with intellectual disability affected by domestic violence and child protection

“…Parents of a child with disability report that peers provide essential information that differs from that provided by professionals (Clifford and Minnes 2013). Encouragement by and collaboration with peers can help parents of children with disabilities to address their shared challenges (Shepherd and Kervick 2016).…”