The Effectiveness of Special Education Training Programs for Parents of Children with Disabilities: A Systematic Literature Review

Family-professional partnership is an essential component of the special education process for children with intellectual and/or developmental disabilities (IDD). However, many families face barriers to participation in the special education process. Latino families especially face systemic barriers when participating in educational decision-making for their children with IDD. Notably, parent programs have been developed to facilitate parent participation in educational decision-making. However, it is unclear whether such programs are culturally responsive to Latino families. The purpose of this systematic literature review was to explore the literature about interventions to support families of children with IDD in improving: special knowledge, advocacy, empowerment, or access to services. Altogether, 21 studies were identified. Of the 21 studies, there were 12 unique interventions. Findings revealed that parent program interventions may yield positive effects on knowledge, advocacy, and empowerment but little is known about access to services. In addi`tion, most of the interventions used a train-the-trainer model and relied on a cohort program. Notably, interventions did not proportionately include Latino individuals nor did they make basic efforts to include Latino individuals. This review has implications for research and practice.