College Student Needing Input

[logan35]

Hello! I am currently seeking my master's degree in special education. One of our assignments is to interview a family who has a child with a disability. I do not have any family or close friends that I can interview. Any input would be greatly appreciated! 

Some things that are required include:
-Characteristics of your child's disability (child's age, grade, nature, onset of disability, if you had any prior knowledge/awareness of the disability)
-Family composition (family definition, size, how involved extended family is, family strengths, family concerns)
-Cultural influences (strong spiritual/cultural influence?)
-Daily demands (of family, of child with disability)
-Social/recreational activities (are they impacted at all by your child?)
-Experience with school system (any services?)

• How you felt having your child classified
• How you felt about IEP development
• Was interaction and communication easy with the school?
• Any problems?
• Were they resolved?
• Any other helpful info about the school-family relationship

-Impacts of child on how the family functions as a whole
-Your overall perspective on strengths, needs, preferences. 

Again, thank you so much in advance. Your responses are greatly appreciated! 
If you prefer, I can give you my email. Also, this will be anonymous and is only shared with my professor. 

[healthy11]

Logan35, several other prospective teachers have posed questions to parents over the years, and many have asked similar questions. Can I ask which college you attend? I could be wrong, but I suspect it's going to be difficult to get responses from parents of younger students, because they're often too busy/overwhelmed with trying to get through each day, and still trying to figure out what their child's needs are and how the school might accommodate/address them. Not only that, needs and expectations keep changing (ie, 'til 3 or 4th grade, students are learning to read and after that, they are expected to read to learn, so a child with delays is going to need different instruction and assistance as they move through the education system. ) Although my son is older now, you still might find his story to be of interest. You can read it at
millermom.proboards.com/thread/13329/future-teacher-parent-interview
and please DO SHARE resources about "2e" students with your professors and peers! All the best!

[logan35]

healthy11, thank you so much! I really appreciate it. I attend Stockton University.

[healthy11]

logan35, I don't recall any other students from Stockton Univ. before, but I'm glad I could help. All the best in your studies, and future career!

[bros]

If you want anything from the perspective of the student with a disability, I can help.

Also, my cousin goes to Stockton.