“They Were Saying That I Was a Typical Chinese Mum”: Chinese Parents’ Experiences of Parent-Teacher Partnerships for Their Autistic Children

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Smith, J., Rabba, A. S., Cong, L., Datta, P., Dresens, E., Hall, G., Heyworth, M., Lawson, W., Lee, P., Lilley, R., Syeda, N., Ma, E., Wang, J., Wang, R., Yeow, C. T., & Pellicano, E. (2022). “They Were Saying That I Was a Typical Chinese Mum”: Chinese Parents’ Experiences of Parent-Teacher Partnerships for Their Autistic Children. Journal of Autism and Developmental Disorders, 53(12), 4888-4900. https://doi.org/10.1007/s10803-022-05748-z

Publication date: 23 Sep 2022 Added to AutiHub: 5 Jul 2026 Type: Article Article language: English
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Authors

Publication authors
16
Publication authors identified as autistic
3 / 16 (18.8%)
  1. Jodie Smith
  2. Aspasia Stacey Rabba
  3. Lin Cong
  4. Poulomee Datta
  5. Emma Dresens
  6. Gabrielle Hall *
  1. Melanie Heyworth *
  2. Wenn Lawson *
  3. Patricia Lee
  4. Rozanna Lilley
  5. Najeeba Syeda
  6. Emily Ma
  1. Julia Wang
  2. Rena Wang
  3. Chong Tze Yeow
  4. Elizabeth Pellicano

Abstract

Effective parent-teacher partnerships improve outcomes for autistic students. Yet, we know little about what effective partnerships look like for parents of autistic children from different backgrounds. We conducted interviews with 17 Chinese parents of autistic children attending Australian kindergartens/schools to understand their experiences. Parents appreciated the acceptance, opportunities and supports they received in Australia. They had high expectations of children; expectations not often shared by educators. Parents were respectful of teachers' expertise and polite and undemanding in interactions. Nevertheless, parents were frustrated by inconsistent teaching quality and inadequate communication. Navigating systems was also challenging and parents faced discrimination from teachers and their community. Recommendations include fostering open home-school communication, proactively seeking parents' expertise about children and explicitly scaffolding parents' self-advocacy.

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Cited author occurrences identified as autistic
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Among occurrences linked to AutiHub author records: 0 / 14 (0.0%). Distinct cited authors identified as autistic: 0 / 136 (0.0%).
Cited author occurrences linked to AutiHub author records
14 / 142 (9.9%)
Distinct linked cited authors: 9 / 136 (6.6%)
Linked cited-author occurrences not identified as autistic
14 / 14 (100.0%)
Among linked cited-author occurrences only. Across all cited-author occurrences: 14 / 142 (9.9%). Distinct linked cited authors not identified as autistic: 9 / 9 (100.0%).
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