ABSTRACT Parent‐teacher relationships are critical for Autistic student success. The purpose of the current project was to better understand parent‐teacher relationships for Autistic students. This project was unique in its use of dyadic data from parents and teachers and its mixed methods design to explore parent‐teacher relationship quality and congruence for Autistic students. In Wave 1, 37 parents and 37 teachers of Autistic students completed surveys measuring teacher self‐efficacy, school climate, and parent‐teacher relationship quality. Teacher efficacy was significantly positively associated with teacher reports of parent‐teacher relationship quality. School climate was significantly positively associated with parent reports of parent‐teacher relationship quality. Wave 2 included individual interviews of seven parents and six teachers from Wave 1. Qualitative analysis (i.e., grounded theory and thematic analysis) revealed key components of positive parent‐teacher relationships and relationship congruence (e.g., collaboration), barriers to positive parent‐teacher relationships and relationship congruence (e.g., adversarial attitudes), and additional contextual themes (e.g., positive communication). Implications for practitioners include equipping teachers to implement effective two‐way communication with parents and families; providing professional development regarding neurodiversity to build knowledge, affirmation, and advocacy; providing consistency and support for transitions for Autistic students and families; and inviting family involvement in culturally sensitivity ways.
Herber et al. (Mon,) studied this question.