In Transition: Experiences of Parents of Children with Special Needs at School Entry (original) (raw)
Related papers
The transition experience to pre-school for six families with children with disabilities
Occupational therapy international, 2010
The purpose of this qualitative study was to gain an understanding of how families receiving related therapy services experience the transition from early intervention to pre-school special education. Participants were six families with a child who received early intervention services and became eligible for pre-school special education services. Data was collected using in-depth interviews over 3 months. Grounded theory lead to theoretical insights and supported the development of three themes and a metatheme. 'Transition is scary', describes the families' feelings about the transition itself and their own perspectives of how their families fared. 'Therapy is central to progress, but not to transition', reflects how therapy remained central to their children's progress, but did not help families acclimate to the pre-school environment. 'Communication is key to comfort', expresses the importance of communication with all relevant parties. The metathem...
2015
The purpose of this study was to define parent perspective and expectation as it pertains to their children with special needs transition process using a descriptive method. This study was designed to assess the perception and expectation of third year and first year Head Start families and provide insight into how effective their special needs transition was from preschool into kindergarten and the individuals related to the overall development of an Individualized Family Service Plan (IFSP) and the Individualized Educational Plan (IEP). Parents not only rely on their own instinct but the information supplied through the Individualized Family Service Plan (IFSP) and the Individualized Educational Plan (IEP) created by an early education team, also known as Information Agents. Information Agents is a group comprised of preschool administration, child's teacher, mental health/disabilities coordinator, learning consultant, mental health consultant and intern, speech and language pathologist, physical therapist, behaviorist, outside Local Education Agency (LEA) (Eagan & Gillis, 2011), and The Special Education Local Plan Area (SELPA) which is a collaborative consortium that supports special education Needs (SEN) services for children and training for parents and educators in order to maintain healthy and enriching environments. Federal and state laws reinforce the importance of planning for the educational transitions of students within viii special needs. The essential nature of parent/child/teacher relationships consistently influence and impact the transition process. This study utilized a qualitative methodology approach to identify and describe parental expectations and perspectives related to their level of involvement, level of inclusion versus exclusion, and the effectiveness of the Information Agents who lead the process. Each affects the transition of preschool children with special needs to the primary grades. The qualitative methodology approach examines the decision making process teachers and administrators utilize and their ability to solicit parent perspective regarding a child's capacity to deal with transition. Lastly, this qualitative study also examines critical aspects of the transition process related to children with developmental delays. Qualitative research was conducted through one on one semi-structured/openended interviews. The results were presented as discussion of themes based on words, not statistics using the Nvivo for qualitative research.
Starting Kindergarten: Transition Issues for Children with Special Needs
Canadian Journal of Education / Revue canadienne de l'éducation, 2007
To investigate issues in transition to kindergarten for children with special needs, we explored several sources of information (peer-reviewed literature, government websites, parent surveys, and interviews with professionals). We found that administrative issues like lack of integration and the evaluation of services available to children and families, and parent support issues like promoting advocacy were recurring themes in all sources. Although some barriers are very clear, more systematic research is needed to identify factors facilitating successful adjustment to kindergarten among children with special needs.
Exceptionality Education International
The transition to school is a time of change and expectation for children, fami-lies, and communities. It is also a time when a range of factors—both within and outside the family—influence educational experiences and outcomes. This paper reports the experiences and expectations of 24 Australian families as their children with special needs started school. Life for these families was complicated by their experiences of other factors described as complex sup-port needs. Drawing on interview and case study data, we report issues and concerns, and examine the supports available for these families and their chil-dren across the transition to school. In analysing the data, we consider the ways in which children’s special needs interact with the complex support needs of families, and consider implications of this interaction as families navigate access to support. We conclude that this interplay positions many families in ways that reinforce, rather than reduce, the difficulties encountered.
Starting School: Perceptions of Parents of Children with and without Disabilities
1993
This study queried 592 parents in Florida, Kansas, and New Jersey regarding their children's upcoming transition to preschool or kindergarten. Children of 222 of the parents had disabilities. Families were selected randomly from preschool programs on state lists. Parents responded to 29 items using a 4-point Likert scale and to 3 open-ended questions. Responses on the 29 scaled items were noted for all children and compared across the following dimensions: (1) preschool entry versus kindergarten entry; (2) males versus females; (3) disabled versus nondisabled; and (4) mildly impaired versus moderately impaired versus severely impaired. Results from all parents indicated generally positive views of the upcoming transition but also indicated specific concerns by a significant minority of respondents. Primary areas of concern included children's safety on the playground, issues related to riding a school bus, children's ability to communicate and obtain needed assistance, and children's ability to participate in large groups, follow directions, and do the required school work. Both family and child eagerness for the new experience were judged by parents to be greater at age 5 than age 3. Parents of children with disabilities reported significantly less child eagerness to enter the new program and significantly more parental concerns than did other parents. (MM)
Early Childhood Education Journal, 2010
Kindergarten transition is considered an important developmental milestone for children and families. Children with disabilities may be especially vulnerable during transition and may lack academic and behavioral readiness skills essential for kindergarten. Family concerns surrounding children's transition were explored in 132 students (n = 29 special education; n = 103 general education) preparing to enter kindergarten. Caregivers responded to a survey on family experiences and involvement in transition and reported on the degree to which they were concerned about kindergarten transition. Caregivers of special education students reported significantly more concerns surrounding their child's behavior, communication, academic readiness, and overall readiness for kindergarten than did caregivers of general education students. Implications for supporting children and families during transition are discussed.
Despite recognition of the importance of parent involvement to enable meaningful inclusion of young children with developmental disabilities in education contexts, few Canadian studies have reported how parents experience this collaboration. Recent research suggests that the transition process is critical to the early school experiences of children with developmental disabilities yet challenging for their parents. The purpose of this paper is to report preliminary data from HELPS Inc, a Canadian multi-method research project describing Health, Education, and Learning Partnerships Promoting Social Inclusion of young children with developmental disabilities. In this paper we present parents’ perspectives on inclusion and collaboration with case study findings based on the experiences of three families in one Ontario community. The data demonstrate the unique experiences of and meanings of collaboration held by individual families, and highlight the challenges these differences pose fo...
Strategies for Supporting Transitions of Young Children with Special Needs and Their Families
Journal of Early Intervention, 2007
Young children with special needs and their families often experience transitions across multiple environments in the early childhood years. Many transitions are identified as stressful for children and families. In the present study, a series of focus groups involving administrators, practitioners, and family members were held around the United States to identify transition practices that have been implemented effectively for children, families, staff, administrators, and communities. Two major themes emerged from the data: critical interagency variables, defined as strategies that support an interagency process involving multiple parties; and transition practices and activities, defined as practices that address child, family, staff, program, and community-specific activities. Outcomes from these focus groups included identification of transition strategies for young children with special needs that are considered valuable by parents, providers, and administrators and that are consistent with theoretical frameworks described in the transition literature.
A national study of kindergarten transition practices for children with disabilities
Early Childhood Research Quarterly, 2011
This study used data drawn from a large, national sample to describe transition practices provided to 1989 children with disabilities as they entered their kindergarten year, obtained through a survey administered to kindergarten teachers. Using path modeling, we examined the child and family, school, and district factors that predict which children and families receive high-and low-intensity transition support as they enter kindergarten and, in particular, what types of high-intensity practices they receive. The type of support kindergarten teachers provided was generally comparable to or higher than previously reported data, with low-intensity transition supports more commonly used than high-intensity supports. In a path model that included a range of child and family, classroom, and district factors, four variables emerged as predictors of transition support. Children from larger districts and higher poverty districts who were entering kindergarten from a different setting were less likely to receive support during the transition period. Rural districts differed little overall from suburban districts because they are, on average, higher poverty, but smaller in size. Urban districts demonstrated efforts that counterbalanced the barriers of size and poverty. We include policy implications based on these findings.
Facilitating Children's Transition to School from Families with Complex Support Needs
2015
Background 7 Research focus and approach 12 Decision points, issues and concerns for families with complex support needs as their children start school 18 Supports for families and children before school and in the first year of school 24 Enabling practices and processes that facilitate the transition to school for children of families with complex support needs 29 Policy directions for promoting the transition to school for children of families with complex support needs 31 Conclusions 32 Endnotes 33 References 34 Acknowledgement Many people have contributed to the project outlined in this report. We have been appreciative of the support and expertise of