‘When you tweet, you get a response’ advocate parent experiences in Turkish special education

Abstract

Objectives Advocacy, an active coping strategy, includes activities such as collaboration between parents and schools in the education of children, raising awareness about children and parents with disabilities, and legal support. Advocacy activities are considered as coping strategies for families of children with special needs, and families’ experiences regarding this process vary. This study aimed to examine the experiences of parents who play an advocate role in the field of special education. Methods In this study, qualitative research method was preferred to examine the experiences of families. Semi-structured interviews were conducted with 14 parents of children with ASD to determine the experiences of Turkish parents who systematically advocate for special education. The participants of the study mostly consist of mothers. The diagnosis of the parents’ children is autism spectrum disorder and the age range of the children varies between 6-24 years. Results Based on the interview data, four themes emerged: (a) advocacy strategies, (b) problems, (c) expectations, and (d) achievements. The analysis of the experiences of the parents emphasized prominent social media use for advocacy. Conclusions The parents stated that they conducted or contributed to training and awareness activities and that their self-advocacy skills had improved. They argued that they encountered several problems such as burnout, inadequate supplementary education, political problems, and healthcare services, and they could not defend the rights of their children, despaired, and considered migrating to various countries during their advocacy activities.