She became this liaison'. Perspectives of a preschool community on coaches as brokers of assistive technology access, communication, and support for teachers and caregivers of children with disablities
Bibliographic Data
While AT has been well-documented as a valuable support for disabled and nondisabled children across developmental domains and settings, several barriers to access and implementation persist. Studies have described heightened barriers for community-based preschools, whose access to AT professional development, AT resources, and practitioners with AT experience may be limited. Researchers in this qualitative inquiry engaged twenty-seven participants (teachers, teacher assistants, caregivers and administrators) to learn about their experiences of an AT intervention programme over a 2-year period. Using Constructivist Grounded Theory Methodology, we analysed data from focus groups and semi-structured interviews, generating five themes. Members of the school community valued the programme’s AT coaches, whose presence, affective style and actions promoted their confidence using AT. While the COVID-19 pandemic impacted both programme delivery and participants’ experiences, the programme and its coaches helped bolster technology and communication access in unanticipated ways. Insights from this inquiry emphasise the important, yet often understated role of building relationships with all participants when delivering community-based preschool interventions, invaluable in meeting the holistic needs of children, as well as the practitioners and families who support them. Notably, AT coaches were perceived as liaisons, building rapport, providing technical assistance, and sustaining connections within a school learning community
Focus group · Intervention (counseling · Medical education · Pedagogy · Psychological intervention · Qualitative research · Sociology · Assistive Technology in Communication and Mobility · Disability Education and Employment · Family and Disability Support Research · Medicine · Psychology
Ecological validity and cultural sensitivity for outcome research
Examining the impact of Covid‐19 in ethnically diverse families with young children with intellectual and developmental disabilities
Strategies for ensuring trustworthiness in qualitative research projects
Language intervention research in early childhood care and education
Beyond Making a Statement
Cultural considerations with response to intervention models
Qualitative Studies in Special Education
| Citation velocity | historical |
|---|---|
| Highly cited | No |