More Than Advocacy: A Qualitative Study of How Parents Regulate Belonging For Students With ASD

• In Event: AERA Roundtable Session Wednesday 1:45 pm - Gold 3
  In Roundtable Session: Family Matters: Parental Roles in Shaping Learning, Motivation, and Educational Pathways

Abstract

Students with autism spectrum disorder (ASD) can face threats to school belonging, yet their perspectives and those of their parents are often underrepresented in belonging research. This qualitative study explores how parents of adolescents with ASD monitor and support their child’s sense of school belonging. Using in-depth interviews and reflexive thematic analysis, we identified four themes: students with ASD experience belonging in places where they can be their authentic self; the school’s setting influences perceptions of belonging; parents monitor and support belonging with individualized coaching; and parents experience intense emotional weight as they scaffold their student’s belonging. This research extends the socio-ecological model of belonging, highlighting how parents of students with ASD actively shape their student’s sense of school belonging.

Authors

• Erica Ellsworth Miller, Washington University in St. Louis

• Anna Freeman, Washington University in St. Louis

• Wendy Chavez, Washington University in St. Louis

• Amanda Plaxe, Washington University in St. Louis

• Chris Rozek, Washington University in St. Louis