Parent-teacher interactions, family stress, well-being, and parental depression as contributing factors to parental involvement mechanisms in education of children with autism

Parental involvement (PI) in education contributes to numerous positive outcomes in children, including educational outcomes and social competence. The goal of the present study was to examine differences in PI mechanisms between parents of children with autism spectrum disorder (ASD) and parents of typically developing (TD) children. An additional goal was to examine factors affecting PI mechanisms in education in parents of children with ASD. The sample for this study consisted of 50 parents of children with ASD and 50 parents of TD children. The results of this study indicate that parents of children with ASD had lower levels of PI mechanisms in education than parents of TD children. The strongest predictors of PI mechanisms in education in parents of children with ASD were subjective well-being and child's emotional reactivity. Implications for future research and practice are discussed.