Communication with families who have children with ASD is an essential job and skill. This part of the job can be intimidating, scary and yet be a part of the most rewarding parts of the job.
Reflection: I really like meeting and connecting with parents. I do not leading IEP meetings, but obviously I do it. Knowing the parents and feeling supported by them definitely helps with my feeling towards those meetings. Perhaps I do not like the formality of IEP meetings because I am better at just asking questions and letting others talk. I feel like my administer and SLP (who has known the families longer then me) has done a great job at having my back when it has come to the meetings and i can lean in on either of them to have wise words/ideas.
Learning from an article about Communication with Parents:
I read the article Parents’ Perspectives of Collaboration with School Professionals: Barriers and Facilitators to Successful Partnerships in Planning for Students with ASD by Vanessa Tucker and Ilene Schwartz published online in 2013. The article was about a study that was done in the state of Washington to monitor the partnership of parents and special education staff in the IEP process. I know that this article is a bit out of the scope of our assignment, but I struggled to find something that was exactly on topic. However, the findings of this study do tie into how professionals need to think about communicating with families.
There are three areas that were highlighted as being important to parents: Regular communication, honesty, and remembering that parents of students with ASD are a part of the school team and have a valuable voice in any situation.
I have always said that it’s important to be in communication with students’ parents to chat about highlights and struggles of a day/week. “Parents in this survey identified that they valued regular communica- tion and professionals who provide timely communication (e.g. returning phone calls and email). Regular communi- cation not only affords parents access to information they may not get otherwise, but also implies that they are a valued voice and member of the team (p.12)”.
Parents also shared that they appreciated open and honest communication with them and others. This gave them a sense of confidence that professionals were able to handle the situation (p.6). In raising a child with ASD there is the expectation that parents will spend more time in meeting with the school team. Building a good relationship “does not happen by accident” (p.12).
Last, making sure that parents have a valued voice as part of the team. We need to be “giving parents a voice to the skills we teach, materials we use, and setting in which these occur…critical goal for the larger picture (p.12). Parents in the study talked about how teachers came from a ‘Deficit Perspective’ only taking in what is wrong with the child and having a lack of understanding. Not only does that perspective need to change, but also taking the time to listen to what parents want for their child now and in the future (p.7).
Although this was a different article that was not full on topic, it highlighted some very important reminders that regular communication, honesty, and including parents are ways that we as a school team are key to building school/parent relationships. When trust is established hard conversations that come up will be earlier to approach with the family.
Interesting Things that My Classmates Shared on Communication:
Sequencing components of parent-teacher conferences include six teacher steps (De Coninck et al., 2018).
1) Positive opening with a friendly greeting and clarifying conference goals.
2) Gathering information by asking questions and actively listening.
3) Sharing information by giving information with examples and communicating clearly.
4) Reaching agreement by suggesting solutions and including parents’ ideas.
5) Positive closing with agreement about progress monitoring and further cooperation and a friendly goodbye.
6) Manage flow by managing time and using authority.
Psychological structures of parent-teacher conferences include three teacher steps throughout the conference (De Coninck et al., 2018).
7) Accepting guardians’ emotions by identifying and listening to parents’ feelings and showing empathy for emotions.
8) Promoting a positive relationship by being friendly and positive, and showing interest to understand.
9) Manage flow by managing parents’ emotions and focusing on the topic.
From this resource, my three favorite suggestions are to accept and show empathy for parents’ emotions, to gather information from parents by asking questions and active listening, and to reach agreements by offering solutions and including parents’ ideas. Overall, I would follow this approach to conferencing because it is clearly structured and incorporates parent and teacher perspectives.
Another resource I found helpful to promote communication between teachers and parents suggests that teachers should communicate with parents throughout the school year using both one-way and two-way communication (Graham-Clay, 2005). One-way communication is when teachers inform parents with a welcome letter, newsletters, report cards, communication books, and school websites. Two-way communication is when dialogue occurs between parents and teachers like phone calls, parent-teacher conferences, and open houses. Ongoing communication between teachers and parents can establish positive relationships and partnerships to support students’ social, emotional, and academic development.
References:
De Coninck, K., Valcke, M., & Vanderlinde, R. (2018). A measurement of student teachers’ parent–teacher communication competences: the design of a video-based instrument. Retrieved from: https://doi-org.proxy.queensu.ca/10.1080/02607476.2018.1465656
Graham-Clay, S. (2005). Communicating with parents: Strategies for teachers. https://www.adi.org/. Retrieved from: https://www.adi.org/journal/ss05/graham-clay.pdf
The course had us reflect on all the ways that our schools communicate with families.
Reflection:
I am currently a LST in an elementary school where most of my caseload is in grades 4-7 classes. These intermediate classes bring and use their own devices for class work. All the teachers use Google Classroom as a platform to post weekly schedules, daily assignments, due dates, and also where students are asked to post their finished products. Teachers encourage parents to know (they are sent) their child’s passwords and to check Google Classroom to know what they are working on. These intermediate classes also use planners for students to write in daily about what homework they need to be doing. Parents need to check the planners and sign daily. If parent signatures are missing then teachers will contact the parents. Also, if a child starts to miss homework assignments, parents are also contacted. Teachers are always available for parents to email if they have any questions. As an LST I am added as a teacher to all the classes that I have students on my caseload in. This helps me assist in planning and answering parent’s and EA questions.
In the primary grades, starting in grade 1 the students use planners to write weekly spelling words, daily messages, and for quick notes to parents regarding small matters. Parents need to sign the planner daily as it is checked by the teacher. All primary grades k-3 use Freshgrade or a weekly emailed newsletter to communicate to parents about what the class is learning and to keep them posted on the events happening in the classroom.
CSL reporting is done every term. The reports are sent home and need to be signed by parents/guardians to show that they have been viewed. Parents also have opportunities at Meet the Teacher night, parent/teacher interviews, and parent/student sharing to learn more about what their child is learning and how they are doing.
Students who have an IEP have team meetings in October and May/June and formal reports every term with the CSL reports. Parents often are in touch with the case manager (LST or counselor) if not weekly, bi-weekly for check ins.
Classmates Shared Ways Their Schools Communicate:
"As a classroom teacher – Weekly Newsletters, email updates, Parent-Teacher Conferences/ Student Led Conferences, Google Slides decks of classroom activities/events/learning (formally Freshgrade), IEP meetings, 1:1 informal chats, positive phone calls home, school website etc."
"Kickboard Family Portal: This portal provides parents with student reports in real-time. Teachers can share student information via the computer or on mobile devices and exchange messages. Other digital apps used can be found at :https://k12teacherstaffdevelopment.com/tlb/integrating-technology-parent-teacher-communication-the-digital-way/"
"Here are the forms of communication I used most during this past year.
IEP meetings: Beginning of the year
End of the year |
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In-Person communication: Throughout the year |
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Phone communication: Throughout the year |
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Email communication: Throughout the year
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Teams communication: Throughout the year |
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Home/school communication book: Throughout the year (informal communication) |
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Specialty meetings: Specific |
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My Resource Brochure For Families: https://docs.google.com/document/d/13qIQWQVcBJT6FcLDSjpLsIBwM4s7nIhN9VgefeTJvkE/edit?usp=sharing
IEP Evidence Collection Email Template:blogsomemoore.com/assessment/
https://www.actcommunity.ca/information/
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