The Autism Society Event and Education Recordings Archive

Previous research suggests that parents of children with autism sometimes have conflict with schools during IEP meetings. There has been no research on who they think has the power in these meetings or who should have the power. This presentation hopes to provide greater understanding for parents and educators alike. The purpose of this qualitative study was to explore how parents of children with autism describe and feel about their ability and power to effectively advocate for their child through communications with the school, including during the IEP process. Parents were interviewed about their experiences with the IEP process, specifically about who they felt was in power and who they felt should be in power during IEP meetings. Overall, parents believed that often, administrators had the most power during IEP meetings. However, parents felt that parents and teachers should have the most power during the IEP meetings because they know the individual needs, strengths and weaknesses of the child best. This proposed session would present the results of this study, but would also try to bridge the gap between parents and schools by providing ideas for resources for parents to use before and during IEP meetings. The presenter's hope is that by creating greater understanding between schools and parents, all parties can better work as a team if they understand each other's perspective.

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