Any professional working with children with SEND either in a specialist or mainstream setting will understand the importance of supporting and working in collaboration with parents.
There has been research carried out into the stress levels and mental well being of parents who have a child who has autism. Now, for the first time, we have a study looking at why they feel this, and what support the parents feel benefit (or not) their important role in their child's life.
Doctor Jamie Galpin is a colleague of Claire and I and is brilliant. With the support of CRAE (Centre for Research in Autism Education) they have carried out his study which is available here http://journals.sagepub.com/doi/abs/10.1177/1362361316687989?url_ver=Z39.88-2003&rfr_id=ori:rid:crossref.org&rfr_dat=cr_pub%3dpubmed If you have trouble accessing (so much research is under lock and key) you can find an open access version through CRAEs twitter feed.
Through carrying out initial surveys and then semi-structured interviews, the areas that professionals need to focus on to support the parents most are; expressive language, diet, sleep and self care. Importantly, this needs to be done taking into account the wider context of the family. This isn't to say that as teachers this is your sole responsibility, yet we each do need to take on a part of the role in coordinating with professionals as we are the people with the most contact with the children and families.
I urge you all to read this article, to reflect on your current practice and to share with your SENDCO and Senior Leadership Team.
We would love to hear about any ways that you support parents to feel empowered through twitter @wearetheSENco
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