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Background: Interventions for young children with autism are increasingly delivered through parents. This thesis investigated baseline and process variables associating with quality of parent-therapist alliance in a parent-mediated intervention for autism, including variables relating to parents' causal beliefs and perspectives. Participants: 77 parents and 6 therapists from a RCT of a parent-mediated intervention for autism (PACT). Method: A sequential exploratory mixed methods approach, with an intermediary instrument development phase. Baseline variables, investigated for the full sample of 77 cases, comprised demographic variables, parental dichotomous causal belief variables, and a therapist average fidelity variable. Thematic analysis of intervention session transcripts informed the development of the Parental Perspectives Coding Scheme (PPCS), a video-based scheme for rating the quality of parent 'Expression' and therapist 'Integration' of parental perspectives during intervention. 5 overarching themes were initially identified, these were collapsed into three items for the PPCS; Interpretation of the Child (IOC), Parent Actions and Strategies (PAS) and Parental Self Disclosures (PSD). Item inter-rater reliabilities were satisfactory to good. Parent-therapist dialogue, for a sub-sample of 20 cases, was coded using the PPCS to create process variables for the Expression and Integration of parental perspectives. Initial analyses identified baseline and process variables with significant univariate associations with alliance; these were included in separate multivariate models of parent-rated alliance and therapist-rated alliance. Results: Parent-rated and therapist-rated alliance did not correlate. PPCS Expression and Integration scores were higher in the high parent-rated alliance group but the difference was non-significant. Parents who cited MMR as a possible cause of their child's autism rated the alliance significantly lower than those who did not. Parents with no post-16 qualifications rated the alliance significantly higher than those with higher qualifications. Each factor contributed independently to a multiple regression model, together explaining 18.3% of variance in parent-rated alliance. Therapist-rated alliance significantly correlated positively with therapist fidelity and with PPCS variables for parent Expression and therapist Integration; together these explained 58.8% of variance in therapist-rated alliance. Conclusions: Therapists should be aware that parents may rate the alliance differently from themselves and that different factors associate with their ratings. Parents' causal beliefs and level of education may influence their ratings of alliance in specific interventions.

There are a greater number of inclusive postsecondary education (PSE) programs for students with intellectual disabilities (ID) in the U.S. than ever before. Consequently, there are a greater number of students with ID who now have the opportunity to participate in fully inclusive PSE programs with the intent of improving their transition outcomes related to employment, independent living, and quality of life. For students with ID to get the most out of these expanding PSE opportunities, it is imperative that they develop the personal competencies that will better prepare them to participate in such programs. The current study began the exploratory process of identifying, from a parent perspective, the personal competencies related to inclusive PSE readiness for students with intellectual disabilities in the broad categories of (a) the personal skills, (b) knowledge, and (c) attributes. This purpose was achieved by using a three-round Delphi survey, administered to a sample of parents of students with ID who have participated in one of the 44 federally funded Transition and Postsecondary Programs for Students with Intellectual Disabilities (TPSIDs). The first round of the survey generated 56 items that participants in Round Two then rated on a 7-point scale of importance related to preparing students with ID for participation in inclusive PSE. In the final round of the Delphi survey, participants were provided with the mean, standard deviation, and frequency distribution for each of the 56 items from Round Two and asked to rerate each item based on the additional information provided. In Round Three the expert panel of parents gained consensus on 33 items related to personal skills, knowledge, and attributes they deemed important for students with ID to develop in order to be prepared for an inclusive PSE program. Results of the study were discussed in the context of the literature related to personal competencies for college readiness for students with and without ID. Additionally, implications, limitations, and recommendations for future research were discussed.

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The purposes of this qualitative inquiry were as follows: (a) to understand how mothers of children with fragile X syndrome (FXS) used augmentative and alternative communication (AAC) systems in the home, (b) to capture their views regarding AAC use, and (c) to examine the support they received in the process. Data was collected using participant observations, semi-structured interviews and review of archival educational records and were analyzed using grounded theory methods. Results revealed that for children with FXS, the interplay of children’s complex developmental challenges, mothers’ internal struggles, and the absence of external supports leads to limited and variable use of AAC in the home.

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This study examines the experiences of Spanish-speaking Latino/a parents in their attempts to obtain school-based speech and language services for their children; the impact of these experiences on parents; and parent perspectives on how school-based speech-language pathologists can co-create collaborative relationships. Through a detailed analysis of a focus group and individual interviews of 31 Spanish-speaking parents of children in the REAAD! (Reaching Educational Achievement and Development) Literacy Enrichment Program at a university in Los Angeles, California, this study provided a space for parents to share their experiences and offer insights regarding what shaped their experiences. Through the theoretical lens of dis/ability critical race theory (DisCrit), Latino critical race theory (LatCrit), and Yosso’s community cultural wealth model, parents’ stories were collected, transcribed, and analyzed. Parents consistently expressed their hope for their children to have a better life than the one they had, one that was attainable through education. Unfortunately, in their quest for educational supports, parents were often met with systematic roadblocks that denied their children resources and supports. Parents in this study were keenly aware of the struggle to support their children in the face of deficit views of their family based on the intersection of their language, race, and ability levels. More often than not, parents utilized the assistance of sympathetic teachers and speech-language pathologists to obtain services for their children. For parents in the study, having a school professional who they believed demonstrated corazón (heart) made all the difference in their ability to advocate for their children.

abstract: The purpose of the research study was to explore the perceptions of Navajo mothers and Navajo fathers in the development and childrearing practices of their children and to what extent each parent was involved in their children by gender and age. The objective of the interviews was to capture the perceptions of each parent as to child development and childrearing practices as well as the beliefs that they have on parental involvement. In the current study, the interviews provided information regarding attitudes and perceptions of parental involvement from the Navajo mothers and the Navajo fathers who participated in the study. By using probing questions, deeper insights into the understanding and perceptions of parental involvement were obtained. / Dissertation/Thesis / Ed.D. Educational Administration and Supervision 2012