Perceived parent needs in engaging with therapeutic supports for children with disabilities in school settings: An exploratory study.
Half of parent engagement needs go unmet in public schools, especially for clear information and emotional support.
01Research in Context
What this study did
The team asked parents of children with IEPs what they need to take part in school therapy services.
Parents rated 83 items on a survey. They said if each need was important and if it was met.
The sample mixed disabilities, but most kids had autism or another developmental condition.
What they found
Every parent said most needs were important, but half stayed unmet.
Biggest gaps were clear information, emotional support, and help knowing what to ask for.
The negative pattern held across all disability types in the sample.
How this fits with other research
Lindsay et al. (2025) extends these results. They interviewed autism families using 504 plans and found the same story: when staff were helpful, needs were met; when schools resisted, they were not.
McQuaid et al. (2024) used the same survey style before any diagnosis. They also saw a 50% unmet rate, showing the gap starts early and lingers into school years.
Whitaker (2002) seems to disagree—his preschool autism families praised their support workers. The difference is timing: Philip looked at a tiny, well-funded pilot, while N et al. captured everyday public-school reality.
Why it matters
If parents do not get information and support, they disengage. Disengagement kills carry-over at home and wastes your hard work in sessions.
Add a two-minute check at every IEP meeting: “What do you still need to understand?” Hand parents a plain-language sheet and a peer-contact name. This single step can cut the unmet-need gap you just read about.
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02At a glance
03Original abstract
BACKGROUND: Parent engagement in therapeutic services for children with disabilities could optimize service delivery while addressing service disparities. However, service providers must first understand parents' needs to effectively involve parents. AIMS: This study examines what needs parents identify as important when engaging with school-based therapies and how well these needs are being met. METHODS AND PROCEDURES: Parents of children with Individualized Education Plans rated statements related to their needs for trust, information, support and guidance, and personal needs when engaging with their child's therapies. Parents also provided demographic information on them and their child[ren] with a disability. OUTCOMES AND RESULTS: Parents endorsed an average of 83 % of needs as important but 51 % of needs as unmet. On average, 65 % of needs related to feeling trusted by service providers were met. In contrast, needs related to receivings upport and guidance (M = 58 %), information (M = 55 %), and addressing parent's own needs (M = 53 %) were frequently unmet. Parents indicated that needs related to feeling trusted by service providers were most frequently met. In contrast, needs related to receiving information were most frequently unmet. Race/ethnicity and number of children with a disability influenced the number of needs endorsed as important and unmet. CONCLUSION: This feasibility study suggests that parents find a variety of needs regarding their interactions with school-based providers as important to them. However, given the high proportion of needs indicated being unmet, significant gaps likely exist in effectively engaging parents, especially for Parents of Color and parents with multiple children with disabilities. IMPLICATIONS: This study provides a list of tangible needs school-based providers can use to improve parent engagement with school-based therapies. School-based providers and administrators can use the needs identified as important and unmet in this study to create actionable steps that aim to improve parent engagement in school-based services.
Research in developmental disabilities, 2022 · doi:10.1016/j.ridd.2022.104183