Communities Speak Up: Supporting the K-12 School Transitions of Students with Autism

Authors

Abstract

Abstract 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.

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