Finding Common Ground: Exploring Undergraduate Student Volunteering as a Support for Parents of Children With Autism

There are many unmet needs among parents of children with autism for parent respite and social time for their children. The use of undergraduate student volunteers is a potential strategy for meeting some of these needs. Separate focus groups for parents and for undergraduates were convened to asses...

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Bibliographic Details
Published in:Focus on autism and other developmental disabilities 2017-09, Vol.32 (3), p.229-239
Main Authors: Breithaupt, Andrew G., Thomas, Kathleen C., Wong, Connie S., Mesibov, Gary B., Morrissey, Joseph P.
Format: Article
Language:English
Subjects:
Autism
Autistic children
Children
College students
Electronic Mail
Focus Groups
Grounded Theory
Parent Student Relationship
Parents
Parents & parenting
Pervasive Developmental Disorders
Qualitative Research
Scholarships & fellowships
Undergraduate Students
Volunteers
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Summary:There are many unmet needs among parents of children with autism for parent respite and social time for their children. The use of undergraduate student volunteers is a potential strategy for meeting some of these needs. Separate focus groups for parents and for undergraduates were convened to assess feasibility, comfort, reservations, and mutual interest in this approach. Both parents and students identified common ground over undergraduate volunteer services, and described the boundaries of participation within which they felt comfortable. Findings suggest that student-provided respite care is a feasible support for parents raising children with autism and for students seeking volunteer and career-orientation experiences.
ISSN:1088-3576
1538-4829
DOI:10.1177/1088357615610112