A dissertation submitted to the Faculty Of Education in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the Degree of Masters in Educational Psychology in the Department of Educational Psychology & Special Needs Education at the University Of Zululand, 2018 / The study sought to explore and examine experiences of parents with regard to the education of their autistic children in special schools. Previous studies in this area looked at the inclusion of autistic children and focused on educators’ attitudes or perceptions. Thus this study intended to get parents’ perspectives, their ideas and views about the education of their children with autism spectrum disorder in special schools. To find out if they are satisfied, and explore what seem to be the concerns and challenges, the study adopted a qualitative case study design. Data were generated from nine mothers who had children attending special schools. They were purposively sampled from three special schools for children with intellectual impairment. Semi-structured interviews were conducted with mothers regarding their views and concerns about the education of their autistic children. A thematic content analysis was used to extract common themes from the collected data. Major findings were that most parents were happy and satisfied with the education of their children, though some lacked understanding and thorough knowledge about autism and special education. Parents raised concerns about lack of therapists in special schools when their ASD children need the intervention of speech and language therapists and occupational therapists. It was also found that parents struggle to access preprimary education for their children. It is recommended that special schools create forums where parents have a platform to voice their opinions and concerns. In conclusion, the study was able to give insight into parents’ experiences, views and concerns with regard to the education of autistic children. Knowing parents’ concerns and opinions may help improve the provision of education for autistic children. With the recent release of the Draft on National Strategy for Autism (September, 2017), perhaps parents’ hope for improvement in provision of education for autistic children might be realized

Syftet med studien har varit att undersöka hur äldre personer ser tillbaka på sin barndom och vardag i barnomsorgen 1940–1950. Genom muntlig historia som teori analyseras de minnen och berättelser som har samlats genom en enkät och textdiskussion från 16 personer via forum på internet. Resultatet visar att informanterna i sina svar separerade mellan formell och informell barnomsorg. Jag har valt att kalla det förstnämnda för barnomsorg och det sistnämnda för omsorg om barn. Detta bidrar med förståelse om de olika sfärer barn kunde röra sig emellan och de resurser som fanns att tillgå för familjer. Minnena beskrev även upplevelser kring vissa aktörer och det sinnliga som framträdde som viktiga i vardagen samt de förutsättningar och barnsyn som kan urskiljas i deras barndomar. De insamlade berättelserna ger en personlig prägel och lyfter fram vardagliga detaljer som ibland saknas i historieskrivningar kring den svenska barnomsorgen. / The purpose of the study has been to investigate how older people look back on their childhood and everyday life in childcare 1940–1950. Through oral history as the theory of choice, the memories and stories that have been collected through a survey and text discussion from 16 people via a forum on the internet has been analyzed. The results show that informants in their answers separated between formal and informal childcare. I have chosen to call the former childcare and the latter care of child. This contributes to an understanding of the different spheres children could move between and the resources available to families. The memories also described experiences about certain actors and the senses that appear to be important in everyday life, as well as the conditions and views of children that can be discerned in their childhoods. The collected stories give a personal touch and highlight everyday details that are sometimes missing in historical writings about Swedish childcare.