Communities Speak Up: Supporting the K-12 School Transitions of Students with Autism
Few studies use a strengths-based perspective to identify strategies that support K-12 school transitions for historically minoritized families of children with autism spectrum disorder (ASD). In the present study, university researchers partnered with community stakeholders (e.g., disability advocates, community health organizations, etc.) in minoritized communities to examine the school transitions of children with ASD. We sought the experiential knowledge of racially, linguistically, economically, and geographically minoritized parents in the United States (n = 45) and the providers servicing these communities (n = 75) using dialogue groups and individual interviews about school transitions for children and adolescents with ASD. Applying a framework of community cultural wealth (Yosso, 2005), we identified the transition practices these families describe as supportive, and the types of community capital families engaged during the transition process. Supportive transition strategies included school tours and visits, meetings and workshops, transition tools, and skills development. Social and support networks in school and community also bolstered transition success. Implications for school practice include developing formal structures for information sharing across the transition and developing partnerships with community-based organizations that already serve these communities.
Abstract
Contributor Notes
Author Bio
Jolan M. Smith, PhD, is an Assistant Professor at California State University Long Beach in the department of Advanced Studies in Education and Counseling. Her research focuses on Black families and youth with disabilities, community engagement to address racial and ethnic disparities in special education, and youth with developmental disabilities in the juvenile justice system.
Sheryl Kataoka is Professor Emeritus in the Divisions of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry and Population Behavioral Health, at the UCLA Semel Institute for Neuroscience & Human Behavior. As a child psychiatrist and health services researcher who has worked in school-based wellness centers, Dr. Kataoka has focused on improving the access to and quality of mental healthcare in schools for ethnic minority youth and their families living in underresourced communities. Over the past 21 years, she has engaged in community partnered participatory research that merges evidence-based school supports with local knowledge from community and school system leaders, developing preventative and culturally sensitive services that are feasible and effective for students and their families.
Elizabeth McGhee Hassrick is an Assistant Professor in the A.J. Drexel Autism Institute (AJDAI) at Drexel University. Her work focuses on: (1) identifying ecosystems of support that provide social capital for autistic people at different life stages; (2) investigating social network interventions for children on the autism spectrum, their families and providers in schools, districts and community organizations; and (3) using network data to support collaborative networks among community, educational and service sector organizations that serve underrepresented children on the autism spectrum, youth and adults and their families and communities.
Francisco R. Segovia is a third-year graduate student in the clinical psychology program at the University of Nevada, Reno (UNR). Having been born and raised in Mexico City, he is interested in promoting access to mental healthcare for Latinxs and monolingual Spanish-speakers. His specific research interests include examining creative ways to deliver culturally acceptable mental health services. As such, Francisco plans to study dissemination and implementation strategies to deliver mental health services in underserved communities.
Anthony Osuna is currently a doctoral candidate in clinical psychology at the University of California, Santa Barbara (UCSB). He will be completing his predoctoral internship as a psychiatry resident at the University of Washington School of Medicine with an emphasis in autism and developmental disabilities. His research explores the development of an online social skills intervention (called SELFI) that helps individuals with autism spectrum disorders safely and effectively navigate social media.
Ivette Arriaga is a J.D. candidate at the University of California, Davis, School of Law. She earned her Bachelor’s degree from UCLA where she conducted interdisciplinary research on Latino parents of children with autism at the UCLA Center for the Study of Latino Health and Culture. The research examined how working class, Spanish-dominant parents of children with autism access diagnosis and autism-related services.
Consuelo D. Garcia graduated from the University of California, Los Angeles with a B.S. in Psychobiology and B.A. in French. She has been working in Dr. Connie Kasari’s Lab since 2015 as Project Manager for the Autism Intervention Research Network on Behavioral Health (AIR-B) studies. She is a native Spanish speaker, which has helped with all aspects of the AIR-B goals, especially within the Spanish-speaking population in Los Angeles.
Hyon “Soo” Lee is a Ph.D. candidate researcher at the UCLA Center for Autism Research and Treatment and is part of the Human Development and Psychology Program in the Department of Education at UCLA. As a 1.5 generation immigrant from Korea, Soo serves as a cultural broker between researchers and the Korean community, manages all Korean translations and cultural adaptations of AIR-B projects to help Korean-speaking families access autism information, and mentors many undergraduate students.
Dr. Jenny C. Chiappe is an Assistant Professor in the Teacher Education Division, Special Education Program at California State University, Dominguez Hills. Her research interests include teacher practices to address academic access and inclusion of students with disabilities. Prior to pursuing her doctorate, Dr. Chiappe worked as a special education teacher to support students with a range of abilities in inclusive settings.
Joseph Juarez, MA was originally diagnosed with autism at the age of three years old at the UCLA Semel Institute for Neuroscience and Human Behavior (formerly known as UCLA NPI). He earned both his Bachelor’s and Master’s degrees from UCLA. His thesis titled, “Understanding the Challenges and Opportunities Facing Students on the Autism spectrum at UCLA: The Intersection of Autism, Ethnicity/Race, Gender, and Sexual Orientation” focused on research for Autistic students attending UCLA.
Felica Jones is the Executive Director at Healthy African American Families II (HAAF), a nonprofit, community-serving agency whose mission is to improve the health outcomes of the African American, Latino, Korean, Native Hawaiian/Pacific Islander, and other minority communities in Los Angeles County by enhancing the quality of care and advancing social progress through education, training and collaborative partnering with community stakeholders, academia, researchers, and government. As the Executive Director at HAAF, she is committed to decreasing health disparities in Los Angeles County by addressing the Social Determinants of Health in South Los Angeles and the surrounding communities.
David S. Mandell is the Kenneth E. Appel Professor of Psychiatry at the University of Pennsylvania Perelman School of Medicine. He is trained as a psychiatric epidemiologist and mental health services researcher. The goal of his research is to improve the quality of care individuals with psychiatric and developmental disabilities receive in their communities, with a particular focus on people with autism.
Aubyn C. Stahmer, PhD is a Professor of Psychiatry and Behavioral Science at UC Davis, Director of Community-based Treatment Research, UC Davis MIND Institute. Her program of research involves using services research and implementation science to collaboratively adapt and translate evidence-based practices for use in community settings. Current projects focus on implementation of evidence-based care in community settings through improving leadership support and addressing identification and treatment access disparities using community-based participatory research approaches.
Peter C. Mundy, PhD, is Professor and Lisa Capps Endowed Chair of Neurodevelopmental Disorders and Education in the School of Education and the Department of Psychiatry and Behavioral Sciences at the University of California, Davis (UC Davis). He is also Director of Educational Research at the UC Davis MIND Institute. A developmental and clinical psychologist, Dr. Mundy has been working on defining the nature of autism and developmental disabilities for over 30 years.
Dr. Tristram Smith (1961–2018) was the Haggerty-Friedman Endowed Professor in Developmental Behavioral Pediatric Research at the University of Rochester Medical Center, where he led myriad investigator-led, multisite, and community partnered research projects. Dr. Smith’s research focused on longitudinal evaluations of early intensive behavioral interventions, assessing predictors of outcomes, and evaluating the comparative efficacy of behavioral strategies in adult versus child-led scenarios.
Dr. Deborah E. Linares is a Health Scientist Administrator (Program Official) at the National Institute on Minority Health and Health Disparities (NIMHD).
Connie Kasari, Ph.D. University of California, Los Angeles, is a Distinguished Professor of Human Development & Psychology in the School of Education and in the Center for Autism Research and Treatment, in the Semel Institute of Neuroscience and Human Behavior. Her research aims to develop novel, evidence-tested interventions implemented in community settings.
