Claims, Barriers, and Satisfaction

Abstract

This article explores the issue of requests for additional special education services. In their study, the authors identified which parents of children who receive special education services make claims for additional related services; the barriers these parents report facing in obtaining such services; and the connections among claims, barriers, and parents' satisfaction with educational services. The authors provide a differentiated view of how child, family, and service-system factors may play into parents' experiences with special education and make policy recommendations related to this perspective. Analyses of national data on children with disabilities indicated that only a small percentage of parents whose children were receiving special education services had requested additional related services. Among parents who made such requests, the vast majority experienced problems in obtaining these services. Parents who reported problems were much more likely to report being dissatisfied with their children's educational services, which suggests that it is not the experience of asking for services but rather the experience of meeting resistance that predicts how satisfied parents will be with their children's educational services.