Experiences of Family Peer Advocates Supporting Black Families Raising Autistic Children

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Pearson, J. N., Manns, L. D. C., Stewart-Ginsburg, J. H., Martin, D. M., & Johnson, J. (2024). Experiences of Family Peer Advocates Supporting Black Families Raising Autistic Children. Exceptional Children, 91(1), 57-73. https://doi.org/10.1177/00144029241271151

Publication date: 21 Aug 2024 Added to AutiHub: 2 Oct 2026 Type: Article Article language: English
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Authors

Publication authors
5
Publication authors identified as autistic
1 / 5 (20.0%)
  1. Jamie N. Pearson
  2. Lonnie D. C. Manns
  3. Jared H. Stewart-Ginsburg
  4. DeVoshia M. Martin
  5. Janelle Johnson *

Abstract

Professionals play an important role in when and how families access autism services. Black families often experience disparate access to autism services compared to White families. Family Peer Advocates (FPAs) are professionals who have personal experience with the diagnostic process, school-based supports, and community-based services, and provide training and support to families. Understanding the experiences of FPAs may help researchers and practitioners better address the needs of Black autistic children and their families. The purpose of this qualitative study was to explore FPAs’ experiences providing autism-related services and resources for Black families with autistic children. We conducted focus groups with 32 FPAs from two agencies in one southeastern state. Three themes emerged from our inductive data analysis regarding FPA experiences: (a) serving multiple roles; (b) working with “zero resources”; and (c) variations in racial responsivity. Given our findings, we call for FPAs to ensure they are considering and responding to the intersecting impact of race on families’ experiences with autism diagnosis and services.

Bibliography cited by this reference

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Cited bibliography overview

These indicators describe the bibliography cited by this publication. An author name is counted each time it appears in one cited reference, so the same person can be counted more than once. Names not yet linked to an author already present in AutiHub are treated as unknown, not as non-autistic. Last computed: 2 Oct 2026 08:14.

Cited references
53
With a DOI
48
Without a DOI, from raw bibliography text
3
2 / 53 (3.8%) cited references include at least one author identified as autistic.
References with data to complete
1 / 53 (1.9%)
References with detected author names
52 / 53 (98.1%)
Without detected author names
1
Without a structured title
1
Without a stable identifier
3
References with raw author names still to review
1
References with external metadata lookup issues
0
These indicators apply to cited references displayed on this page, after technical duplicates have been merged. A reference without a DOI can still support author statistics when a title and author names are available.
Author names detected in the cited bibliography
283
From DOI or external metadata
283
From validated raw bibliography text
0
Raw names already validated
0
Raw names still to review
1
70 / 283 (24.7%) names are linked to an author already present in AutiHub. 213 / 283 (75.3%) names are not yet linked.
Names linked to a person identified as autistic
2 / 283 (0.7%)
Calculated across all author names detected in the cited bibliography. Among names linked to an author already present in AutiHub: 2 / 70 (2.9%). Distinct people identified as autistic: 2 / 238 (0.8%).
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