Parent-Teacher Interaction in the Process of Monitoring the Psychosocial Development of Children with Autism Spectrum Disorder

Abstract

<p style="text-align: justify;"><strong>Objectives. </strong>Contemporary inclusive education practices for children with Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD) present a series of challenges related to involving parents in the educational process. One effective tool for timely adjustments to the content and organization of the educational process for children with ASD, ensuring its individualization, is the interaction between teachers and parents during the monitoring of a child&rsquo;s psychosocial development. The aim of the research presented in this article is to identify the characteristics of parent-teacher interaction in the process of monitoring the individual psychosocial development of students with ASD and to determine the conditions and methods for optimizing such interaction.</p> <p style="text-align: justify;"><strong>Methods.&nbsp;</strong>The study employed parental questionnaires based on a developed questionnaire and an expert dialogue methodology with parents. The sample consisted of nine parents of 7&mdash;8-year-old children with ASD who are enrolled in a resource classroom.</p> <p style="text-align: justify;"><strong>Results.&nbsp;</strong>have shown that in the interaction between parents and educators during the monitoring process, non-productive types predominate. These non-productive types are characterized by excessive control over the educational process, the absolute reliance on one&rsquo;s own knowledge, the delegation of responsibility to educators while seeking to influence the educational process, and the demand for rapid positive changes in the child&rsquo;s educational outcomes. Productive interaction, on the other hand, is characterized by openness to sharing information about the child&rsquo;s unique characteristics, trust, and a shared sense of responsibility. Based on the obtained results, psychological and pedagogical conditions for involving parents in the study of the psychosocial development of children with ASD have been identified, in accordance with the monitoring stages. As a means of optimizing the interaction between parents and educators, joint monitoring practices have been proposed and tested.</p> <p style="text-align: justify;"><strong>Conclusions.</strong> Drawing from established approaches in corrective pedagogy and psychology, as well as the synthesis of empirical research results, this article provides a rationale for the psychological and pedagogical conditions necessary to involve parents in the study of a child&rsquo;s psychosocial development with ASD. These conditions lay the foundation for meaningful and productive collaboration between parents and educators.</p>