A DIALOGUE WITH

DONNA MARTÍNEZ
Parent
Special Education Teacher
Doctor of Education
Citizen Advocate
Donna as Parent
 Parent’s role is critical:
• Nurture their children’s educational
development
• Motivate their children’s learning
• Develop their children’s sense of self as a
learner
• Improve their children’s behavior
• Improve their children’s academics
• Develop plans
 Parent’s role is critical:
• Lead their children to high rates of
postsecondary education enrollment
• Often become change agents
• Involvement increases with increased
information, especially as it relates to their
children’s curriculum
• Involved/well supported parents have higher
overall levels of efficacy in the special
education process
 Distribution of knowledge, power,
and control:
• Relationships as social capital: extra-group ties
enable enrollment to college
• Parents eager to be informed
• Often goes beyond social processes within the
home or simple involvement with school agents
• Found via: parent networks/Parent
training/disability Organizations/Internet
• Parents continue to have a sense of “not
knowing,” distrust, district deliberately
withholding information (Worsham, 2007)
 Distribution of knowledge, power,
and control:
• Parent efficacy may affect parent involvement
and add to challenges to successful inclusion
• Least likely to attend IEP meetings, participate
in school meetings, events and volunteer, but
will attend teacher conferences
• Staff/Parent perceptions colored by cultural
and linguistic differences
• Four components for improved involvement
(Worsham, 2007)
 Distribution of knowledge, power,
and control:
• Four components for improved parent
involvement (Worsham, 2007)
1. Strong partnerships between groups backed by
financial commitments/collaboration
2. Mentoring and family supports
3. Supportive climate
4. Tangible evidence the school and district staff
believed in the importance of including
parents/families in decision-making
 Donna as Special Education Teacher
• Fairfax County Public Schools, Virginia, USA
• http://www.fcps.edu
 Inclusion and General Education
Barrier: Teacher perception that students cannot
benefit from or participate fully in general
education.
• No research to support concern about a lack of
instruction on functional activities and the
consequent lack of development of skills that are
meaningful for participation in life.
• No research to indicate that when students
receive services in general education contexts
they are less prepared to participate in adult life.
 Inclusion and General Education
General education contexts are composed of
multiple variables
• general education class,
• school settings,
• general education classmates,
• general educators,
• general education activities and materials,
• interactions during those activities
 Inclusion and General Education
Research Shows:
• Students with extensive support needs are more
engaged when in general education contexts than in
self-contained settings.
• Students with extensive support needs benefit more
from receiving instruction when they are in general
education contexts and their instruction focuses on
both general education curriculum and functional
activities within those contexts
• Students taught within the classroom provides
context for learning.
 Inclusion and General Education
• Access to general education contexts means:
– Instruction on the general education content
– High expectations for students
– Demonstrated by their participation and progress
in general education content
– Participate in the general education accountability
measures
 Dr. Donna Martinez
• Transition from high school to college
/employment for individuals with intellectual
disabilities
• Parent involvement in education of young
adult children
2009: Parents’ Involvement in Transition Planning for
Their Young Adult Children with Intellectual
Disabilities
• Desires and expectations for post-school
options including postsecondary education
and employment
• Influence of inclusion on parents’ desire for
postsecondary education
• Parents’ means of accessing information to
achieve desired/expected post-school goals
Conceptual Framework
 Participation of Team in Transition
with Focus on Parent Involvement
Student- Plus support by …
• PARENT, School, Community
• Parent experiences
– Bureaucratic transitions
– Family transitions
– Status transitions
• Parent participation includes ADVOCACY
 Bureaucratic, Family Life, Status Transitions
Cooney, 2002; Ferguson, Ferguson & Jones, 1988; Geenen et al., Hanson, 2003;2001; Keogh et
al., 2004; Kraemer & Blacher, 2001; Newman, 2005)

• Struggle to move from school/mandated services

to community agency/eligibility based services
• Lack of shared vision, little/no match based on
abilities and desires
• Deficient people to be molded into situation-
specific available options
• Family rhythms change - Family and Youth
characteristics impact involvement
• Status changes within family and culture-Child as
an adult
• Making & meeting milestones- a matter of
redefining in family and culture
 Parent Involvement Patterns

• Preferred face-to-face, formal means of accessing

information & involvement, primarily from school
• Deferred involvement in transition planning- too soon
to plan
• Compliance issue?
• Eager to participate, but frustrated or thwarted
• Pockets of excellence
• Desired more information, supports, & funding
• Increased communication & collaboration
• Advocacy and training beneficial
 Parent Desires / Expectation
• Hopeful expectations for high functioning
children
• Concerns for the future & quality of life/well-
being
• Education: Center based career or vocational
preparation and training (D = 66%, E = 54%)
• Employment: Desired: Integrated business
environment with full benefits (67%)
• Expected: Volunteer and not receive pay (54%)
 What Does This All Mean?
• Transition process deferred for lack of shared vision, available
options, information—Concern for compliance

• Quality of life—hope vs. reality and its barriers to success

• Parents incorporated advocacy and political action

• Preference for an integrated employment, emerging desire

and expectation for Post Secondary Education- University

• Linear relationship between lowered involvement to desire

and expectation for sheltered workshop
 Recommendations for Practice
• 1. Implement parent-centered strategies coordinated
between LEA, PTI, Community Adult Agencies, DSO to
increase parents’ awareness early about inclusion in school,
community, career, college

• 2. Inform about all post-school options using awareness

programs --assess for effectiveness

• 3. Provide continued access to and participation in the

general education curriculum

• 4. Express and maintain positive, high individual, academic,

and community expectations for students with disabilities
 What Has That Looked Like in My
Son’s Life?
• Son fully included now works independently in
Santiago
What Has That Looked Like in My Life
• Politically active in issues of local, national
(USA and Chile), global importance for all
people with disabilities
What Has That Looked Like in My Life
• Serve on many boards and advisory
committees to communicate, guide, and learn
more of best CURRENT practices
First Step in Normalization = Inclusion
Integrated supported
NCLB / IDEA increased inclusion employment options
of SwID and parent involvement preferred

HEOA & ED support PSE options 130 universities/colleges

Person-centered planning Self- with options for SwID
Determination
SwID/Parents desires and
School, community and parents expectations mirror non-
operate with high regard to disabled students/families
social/personal values of SwID
SwID/Parents
desire/expect a “Life like
yours” in the community
What Does this Mean in Your Lives?