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Julie Pruitt

Professor Jenny Quarles

English 400- Advanced Writing

12 October 2015

Parent Involvement in Special Education

The history behind special education all started when the Education for All Handicapped

Children Act (EHA) was amended in 1997, however it is now known as the Individuals with

Disabilities Education Act. (History of Special Education) This act was created mainly so

children with disabilities could get the chance to have a good education just like regular children

do. Special Education programs are designed for those students who are mentally, physically,

socially and/or emotionally delayed. Due to the children’s specific needs, they cannot learn in a

regular learning based classroom. (What is Special Education?) Children could have several

different disorders that fall under the IDEA guidelines listed with special education, they are as

follows: Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD), Traumatic Brain Injury (TBI), Speech and Language

impairments, Visual impairments (blindness), Hearing impairments, Developmental Delays, and

other health impairments (ADD, ADHD, Tourette’s). (What is Special Education?)

Most children have at least two main educators in their life, their parents and their teachers.

Education starts out with the parents, who are known as the prime educators for the children until

the child starts school. Schools make it possible for the parents to be involved when it comes to

Special Education classrooms and their child. Parent Involvement is one of the most important

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things that can up the chances of a child being successful in the classroom. This has become a

bigger issue now than ever before. Evidence indicates that parental involvement continues to

have a significant effect on achievement into adolescence and even adulthood. Parental

involvement does not only affect the children it affects the teachers in the school as well. Many

parents, while maybe not intentionally, make it difficult to communicate with the teachers and

staff on what they feel their child may need to be working on outside of the classroom.

Communication is the main key to making anything work in and outside of the classroom. A lot

of the parents that have a child with special needs don’t seem to care about what their child is

learning inside the classroom; and in retrospect, do not feel that they should have to work with

their child outside of it. I have seen this happen in the classroom that I work in, the little girl’s

mom doesn’t care that we sit down with her child who has ASD and try to work with her on

colors, numbers, shapes, and some of the other things that we follow on her IEP. Her mother

calls it a “babysitting job” for us, because she knows her child isn’t learning anything there,

however it shouldn’t matter if she does or doesn’t retain the information, the mother should still

be more confident in her child and help support us with the goals that we are trying to achieve

with her daughter. Although, her mother wouldn’t have her there if it wasn’t for the law that

requires children with disabilities to be in school.

Most parents are going to “pick their battles” with their own kids, and sometimes that is the best

thing for them and the child. Working with a special needs child outside of the classroom can be

very challenging. Some parents are willing to work with their children some aren’t. I know a lot

of parents that will just let their children do whatever they want and get away with it, but that

isn’t fair to the child because you are refusing to do anything with them and when they come to

school and are made to actually do something, whether it being going to the bathroom, doing

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some worksheets or sitting during group time, they don’t like to do it because they hate the word

“No!” and hate to have to be made to do anything that they don’t want to. This is another main

reason why the parents’ support with the child/teacher relationship is very important. Educators

work and work with the child everyday hoping that they will catch on and learn just the basics of

language, only to have the parent arrive and not ask about what they learned that day. I’m not

blaming it all on the parents because I know a lot of people who could say the same about the

teachers and staff members when it comes to certain things in the school system. The parents,

teachers and staff members all need to come together as a team and work together to enforce

learning in the classroom and at home. The children’s achievement is the most important thing

when it comes down to it, that should be the main reason why the parents are so proud to raise

them and why the teachers are so proud to work with them every day.

Some personal views on this topic came from a Special Education Teacher and a

Paraprofessional. The Paraprofessional in the classroom that I work in, says that parent

involvement in special education is slim to none. The parents don’t seem to have any interest in

the success that happens with the children at the school. The parents just feel that it isn’t

important for them to attend anything because they know that their kids aren’t going to retain

anything that is being taught to them anyways. The teacher on the other hand says that the

parents will attend the IEP meetings only because it is a necessary thing for them to attend but

other events or school functions that go on the parents could care less. They would much rather

their children sit and watch movies all day and eat all day than to sit down and do math

worksheets or categories worksheets because us working with them on that isn’t a need for them.

The definition of parental involvement as listed in the Child Trends Data Bank is “parent

reported participation at once during the school year and attending a general school meeting;

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attending a scheduled meeting with their child’s teacher; attending a school event; or

volunteering in the school or serving on a school committee.” (Parent Involvement in Schools)

Parent involvement in public schools has been viewed as a key component for building success

in children schooled in general education environments. There are laws that mandate parental

involvement for those children with special needs or IEP programs. In early years since the

program was introduced, parent involvement has been viewed by educators from opposing

standpoints. The first view held by educators concerning educators in educational environments

is one of support; the second view is one of potential arguments based upon varying factors. The

percentage of students whose parents reported involvement in their schools rose significantly

between 1999 and 2007 across several measures including attendance at a general meeting, a

meeting with a teacher, or a school event, and volunteering or serving on a committee. However,

these proportions fell or remained the same in 2012. (Parental Involvement in Schools)

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In addition to being a positive benefit for special education students, positive parental

involvement is a key component that can contribute to effective intervention in children with

autism. For example, in the area of challenging behavior, children with autism whose parents

were directly involved in implementing behavior management displayed a significant reduction

in problematic behaviors.

Researchers have shown that the ability of parents to implement different types of interventions,

including a focus on areas such as language and behavior, helps a child to learn. (Parent

Involvement in Schools) Parents serve as effective intervention members for three specific

reasons: First, parents can increase the number of hours of intervention children are given

without increasing costs to teachers and other service providers. Secondly, parents are able to

control intervention measures throughout the life span of a special needs child. Finally, parents

who directly help their children through intervention services within educational environments

often report feelings of being more competent and supportive with less stress.

These are all very good reasons supporting parental involvement that can provide positive

outcomes and more productive classroom time for special education students in general

education environments. Parent participation leads to a multitude of positive outcomes for

special needs children.

There are several recommendations for how schools can develop partnerships with families.

These could include but are not limited to engaging in quality communication, inviting parents to

participate in school activities, soliciting parents' input on decisions about their child's education

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to encourage communication with the teachers or educators and let those people help the parent

with some things that could with the learning process at home.

Trust is a very important factor in promoting positive relationships between teachers and parents.

One strategy for facilitating family involvement in special education services is trust building.

Parents need to trust the educator and know that they will do the right thing and teach what needs

to be taught. Schools stress the importance of promoting trust in relationships between teaching

staff and parents. Parents feel more welcomed with an “open-door” policy where they can bring

their issues to the table. Parents also don’t feel the need to come to the school when they are

comfortable with what is going on and they feel their child is doing well.

Another way for improving relationships between home and school is to increase communication

between teachers and parents. The most common reason for communication was to relay

information related to the child's needs and performance issues. Just as with regular children,

parents can exchange notes with the teacher to stay informed about the child's performance.

Another typical form of communication between parents and school involved brainstorming to

solve problems that had may arise. Our school system offers a “Parental Involvement Survey”

each year to find out how they are doing as a school system. Parents are encourage to use this as

their report card on the school system.

As always, parents disagree on a variety of issues where parental involvement is the subject.

These may include differences in opinion on how to address a particular behavior problem or

something as simple as the school's failure to reply to a parent's question or request on the same

day. Several parents feel that they have to “extend the olive branch” to get information from their

child’s teacher. Parents are typically required to attend the IEP (Individual Improvement Plan)

meetings that are setup specifically for their child and based on the needs of their child. These

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meetings typically allow the parents and teachers to get to know one another and begin to trust

each other and the abilities of each to obtain the best education for the child.

Special Education will always hold different views. Studies have shown that children on the

primary level will have their parents at the school for parent-teacher conferences, PTO meetings

and for volunteer opportunities. Students at the higher levels are less likely to expect their

parents to attend school functions for fear of being “uncool” if parents showed up. But it has

been proven that children with parental involvement in their school years will grow up and

graduate and are most likely to attend college and/or graduate school. Children with parents who

care about their education are more successful students. Special needs children deserve the same

opportunities as regular children if capable. The determination of capabilities is agreed upon

between the parent and teacher and the capacities of the child. That’s why parental involvement

and trust is very important in a special needs relationship. By working together, success for the

child is ensured.

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Works Cited Page

"Family Involvement in Special Education" Research Starters eNotes.com, Inc. eNotes.com 12

Oct, 2015 http://www.enotes.com/family-involvement-special-education

“Parental Involvement in Schools: Indicators in Children and Youth” Child Trends. Web

September, 2013 www.childtrends.org/.../2012/10/39_Parent_Involvement_In_Schools.pdf

“What is Special Education” Web http://teach.com/what-is-special-education

“The History of Special Education” Web http://teach.com/what-is-special-education