A study of resources and support needed for families of students receiving special education services.

The purpose of this study was to identify the use of resources and support needed by families of children with disabilities. The study also examined the perceptions of importance regarding resources and support by families of children with disabilities, the relationship of size of the school district and use and perceptions of importance of resources and the relationships of time since initial identification of the child\u27s disability and the use and perceptions of importance of resources and support. This quantitative study used Hornby\u27 s (1975) theoretical model for parental involvement for the development of a survey that was administered to parents of children with disabilities. The design of the survey instrument was organized around four areas: communication, liaison/advocacy, education and support. Parents of children with disabilities within the geographical area of Loess Hills Area Education Agency in southwest Iowa identified levels of usage and perceptions of importance. The responses to the survey were analyzed using frequency distributions, one-way analysis of variances (ANOVAs), and Pearson product-moment correlation coefficients. The results of this study were: (1) fifteen resources and support systems have varying levels of usage by parents of children with disabilities; (2) seventeen resources and support systems have varying perceptions of importance of need by parents of children with disabilities; (3) size of the school district did not result in a statistically significant difference in use and perceptions of importance, except for categories related to communication with other parents of children with disabilities and use of school personnel for information; and (4) the time since the initial identification of the disability did not result in a statistically significant difference in parents\u27 use and perception of importance of resources and support systems. The information gained from this study was useful to school districts and other service providers who collaborate with parents of children with disabilities in meeting their needs