Involvement of Portuguese-Speaking
Parents in the Education of
Their Special-Needs Children
DoraTellier-Robinson
Alpine, New Jersey
Abstract
The purpose of this study was to investigate the involvement of
Portuguese-spe aking families in the education of their specialneeds
children.The qualitative methods of participant observation
and ethnographic interviewing were used to explore the following
research questions: How do these parents want to be involved in
their children's education, and what are their feelings about parent
involvement? Participantswere parent(s) from each of nine families
who were foreign born, Portuguese-speak ing, and had at least one
child in special education. Findings were analyzed within two
major categories: (a)the special-needs children intheir families,and
(b) the families' experiences with their children's education.
The focus in this article concerns findings that emerged from data
discussed under the following thematic statements : Wehave to ask
for what we want and fightfor our children, and lacking proficiency
in English makes it more difficult for us to procure the services to
which our children are entitled.
The experiences of parents of children with special needs are usually
more difficult, extensive , and complex than those of p arents of
non-handicapped children. These problems can be further complicated if
parents are non-English speaking, if English is a second language for them, or,
in some cases, solely by the fact that they are recognized as belonging to
an ethnic minority. The qualitative study on which this article is based was
de signed to explore the attitudes toward parent involvement in their children's
education by a number of Portuguese-speaking parents of children with special
needs. The focus of this article concerns the aspects of the findings that deal
with the effect that issues of lan guage and ethnicity seemed to have for these
parents in their efforts to "deal with the system," and on suggestions the
parents had for improving opportunitie s for parental involvement.