Fostering Advocacy, Communication, Empowerment, and Support (FACES) for African American families of children with autism: a pilot study

Children with autism spectrum disorder (ASD) and their families often face challenges with accessing early intervention and related services. African American children face additional challenges due to disparities in diagnoses and access to services. These disparities present a great need for parent advocacy strategies to combat barriers such as culturally insensitive service delivery, and strained parent-professional partnerships. In this sequential mixed methods study, I examined the effectiveness of a six-week parent training intervention (FACES) on strengthening perceptions of advocacy and empowerment among African American parents of children with ASD. Multiple sources of data were collected and mixed to refine the intervention and to assess the effectiveness of FACES. Results indicated that parents’ perceptions of their advocacy skills, sense of empowerment, and community support were strengthened, following the FACES program. Implications for research and practice are discussed.

Name thesis:degree_name

Ph.D.

Level thesis:degree_level

Dissertation

Discipline thesis:degree_discipline

Special Education

Grantor

University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign

Year dc:date

2017

Author dc:creator

• Pearson, Jamie Nicole

Contributors dc:contributor

• Meadan-Kaplansky, Hedda
• Burke, Meghan
• Santos, Rosa Milagros
• Boyd, Brian

• Autism
• Advocacy
• Empowerment
• African American
• Families

Statement dc:rights

• Copyright 2017 Jamie N. Pearson

Language dc:language

en

Handle dc:identifier

http://hdl.handle.net/2142/97326

OAI identifier oai:identifier

oai:www.ideals.illinois.edu:2142/97326