Meeting FACES: A Workshop for Families of African American Children With Autism in North Carolina

• In Event: 64.086 - MTCC Roundtable Session 27
  In Roundtable Session: 64.086-9 - Perspectives and Partnerships: Listening to Families of Children With Autism Spectrum Disorder

Abstract

Families of children with autism often face challenges accessing appropriate educational supports and services. African American children face additional challenges due to disparities in diagnoses and access to services. These disparities present a need for parent advocacy to combat barriers such as culturally insensitive service delivery and strained parent-professional partnerships. In an effort to build family agency, strengthen parent-professional partnerships, and increase families’ access to services, Meeting FACES was held as a half-day workshop comprised of parent-provider meet and greets and informational sessions from community providers. Following the workshop, participants completed a 30-item survey. Results indicated that participants’ knowledge of available services varied, they identified highly preferred potential services, and overall, they were very satisfied with the Meeting FACES workshop.

Authors

• Jamie Pearson, North Carolina State University

• Amanda Traficante, North Carolina State University

• Lauren Denny, North Carolina State University