Developing culturally responsive educational psychology practice for parents of Black African autistic children

Abstract

Educational Psychologists (EPs) are privileged to work with autistic children, young people and their families. As a demographically homogenous white workforce working within an increasingly multicultural country, EPs will regularly work with parents and families of autistic children from different cultural backgrounds to their own. This thesis explored the way EP practice can be developed to be more culturally responsive when working with black African parents of autistic children.
This thesis details two separate but related studies; the first is a systematic literature review which aimed to synthesise the existing research about 'The experiences of black African parents of autistic children in the UK'. Eleven studies were included in this review and thematically synthesized. Five themes were developed describing the unique intersectional experiences of identifying as black African and being a parent to an autistic child. The findings demonstrated the influences of faith, religion, and cultural values on experiences of parenting, with an absence of universal language around autism impacting the ways parents understood and communicated about autism. Parents described challenges interacting with professionals and accessing support and their concerns for their child navigating systems as being both black and autistic.
The second study was a qualitative interview study of 11 EPs and two black African parents working and living across two London local authorities. The study aimed to investigate the interactions between EPs and black African parents when working together around autistic children. Five themes were developed using reflexive thematic analysis. The themes described EPs current practice and the systems they work within as barriers to changing practice. Additionally, parents described their positive and negative experiences working with professionals during their child's early years. Parents and EPs spoke about power, trust, and safety within this study, highlighting the essentiality of reducing power imbalances so that parents can feel safe during their work with EPs.
The findings of this thesis should be used to develop EP's cultural awareness about the experiences black African parents of autistic children may have, and to develop culturally responsive practice.

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Identifiers

ORCID for Hanna Kovshoff: orcid.org/0000-0001-6041-0376

ORCID for Sarah Parsons: orcid.org/0000-0002-2542-4745

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