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Smith J, Rabba AS, Cong L, Datta P, Dresens E, Hall G, Heyworth M, Lawson W, Lee P, Lilley R, Syeda N, Ma E, Wang J, Wang R, Yeow CT, Pellicano E. "They Were Saying That I Was a Typical Chinese Mum" : Chinese Parents' Experiences of Parent-Teacher Partnerships for Their Autistic Children. J Autism Dev Disord 2023; 53:4888-4900. [PMID: 36149615 PMCID: PMC9510549 DOI: 10.1007/s10803-022-05748-z] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Accepted: 09/04/2022] [Indexed: 11/20/2022]
Abstract
Effective parent-teacher partnerships improve outcomes for autistic students. Yet, we know little about what effective partnerships look like for parents of autistic children from different backgrounds. We conducted interviews with 17 Chinese parents of autistic children attending Australian kindergartens/schools to understand their experiences. Parents appreciated the acceptance, opportunities and supports they received in Australia. They had high expectations of children; expectations not often shared by educators. Parents were respectful of teachers' expertise and polite and undemanding in interactions. Nevertheless, parents were frustrated by inconsistent teaching quality and inadequate communication. Navigating systems was also challenging and parents faced discrimination from teachers and their community. Recommendations include fostering open home-school communication, proactively seeking parents' expertise about children and explicitly scaffolding parents' self-advocacy.
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Affiliation(s)
- Jodie Smith
- Macquarie School of Education, Macquarie University, 2109, Sydney, NSW, Australia.
- School of Allied Health, Human Services and Sport, La Trobe University, Melbourne, Australia.
- Department of Psychology, Counselling and Therapy, School of Psychology and Public Health, La Trobe University, Melbourne, Australia.
| | - Aspasia Stacey Rabba
- Macquarie School of Education, Macquarie University, 2109, Sydney, NSW, Australia
- Department of Psychology, Counselling and Therapy, School of Psychology and Public Health, La Trobe University, Melbourne, Australia
- School of Educational Psychology and Counselling, Faculty of Education, Monash University, Melbourne, Australia
| | - Lin Cong
- Macquarie School of Education, Macquarie University, 2109, Sydney, NSW, Australia
| | - Poulomee Datta
- Macquarie School of Education, Macquarie University, 2109, Sydney, NSW, Australia
| | | | - Gabrielle Hall
- Macquarie School of Education, Macquarie University, 2109, Sydney, NSW, Australia
| | - Melanie Heyworth
- Macquarie School of Education, Macquarie University, 2109, Sydney, NSW, Australia
- Reframing Autism, Sydney, Australia
| | - Wenn Lawson
- Macquarie School of Education, Macquarie University, 2109, Sydney, NSW, Australia
| | | | - Rozanna Lilley
- Macquarie School of Education, Macquarie University, 2109, Sydney, NSW, Australia
| | | | - Emily Ma
- Macquarie School of Education, Macquarie University, 2109, Sydney, NSW, Australia
| | - Julia Wang
- Macquarie School of Education, Macquarie University, 2109, Sydney, NSW, Australia
| | - Rena Wang
- Macquarie School of Education, Macquarie University, 2109, Sydney, NSW, Australia
| | - Chong Tze Yeow
- Macquarie School of Education, Macquarie University, 2109, Sydney, NSW, Australia
| | - Elizabeth Pellicano
- Macquarie School of Education, Macquarie University, 2109, Sydney, NSW, Australia
- Department of Clinical, Educational and Health Psychology, University College London, London, UK
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