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Family Interview Assignment

Colleen M. Hall

The University of Kansas

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Family Interview Assignment

Assignment Purpose

Although the purpose of the assignment was collaborating with families of students with

disabilities to enhance understanding, I thought it was also an insightful look at the areas of

strengths and weakness within the special education department from a family’s perspective.

This assignment also taught me to be prepared to engage and listen to the parent and to try not to

steer the conversation.

Providing a Third Space and embracing parent involvement is an additional central

component to the assignment. Furthermore, exploring feedback provided by a concerned parent

can enhance the special education program and how it is implemented. This interview could also

encourage a dialogue about self-determination and student advocacy.

Revision

After the interview, I followed up with the parent and speech therapist. I then added a

summary of those conversations to the end of the paper. The professor gave me an “A” because

they stated is was a good idea to allow the parent to lead the conversation and create a

ThirdSpace; instead of trying to ask all of the prewritten questions I created.

Reflection

Interviewing a parent who is also a coworker was very interesting. Shelly (*pseudonym)

was able to navigate and comprehend the special education department, especially her rights, as

well as Rachel’s (*pseudonym) entitlements as a child with disabilities. Unfortunately, she

encountered issues collaborating with the speech pathologist and was not sure how to reach out

to her. This was a revelation for me because I assumed that people who are knowledgeable in the
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area of special education had an easy go of it. The interview shined a light on how a parent can

struggle when they are employed by the school providing their child’s services. I also looked into

the obligations of our speech therapist and if they followed the IEP with fidelity.

What I found interesting about the IEP is that it did not require the speech teacher to

measure goals quarterly like other subjects or to communicate the progress of these goals to the

family. Reviewing Rachel’s IEP was prompted by the conversation I had with Shelly, and

interviewing her made me understand the importance of the language in an IEP. As a result, this

assignment has provided me with guidance on what I should suggest during an IEP meeting,

clarity in tracking goals, and keeping the parent informed about the progress of those goals.