Introduction

The importance of social inclusion is demonstrated by a number of leading
international documents, such as the UN Convention on the Rights of the Child
(United Nations, 1989). Article 23 clearly states that “... a mentally or physi-
cally disabled child should enjoy a full and decent life, in conditions which ensure
dignity, promote self-reliance and facilitate the child’s active participation in the
community”.
Families of children and young people play a crucial role in their offspring’s
social inclusion (Burford, 2010). This is especially true for families of young people
with Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD). For example, parents were instrumental in
calling for educational and social provision for their children with Autism, as well as
advocating for acceptance of Autism as “a different way of thinking and behaving,
which should be accepted and respected”, rather than being perceived as a disorder
(Langan, 2011, p. 200).
Families of children with ASD have been in the center of research interest for
decades, with a focus on the stress experienced by these families (for a review of
research on parenting stress in families of children with Autism please see Hayes and
Watson, 2013), coping over time (Gray, 2006), impact on siblings (Macks and Reeve,
2007) and grandparents’ experiences (Margetts, Le Couteur and Croom, 2006;
Miller, Buys and Woodbridge, 2012). The research findings suggest that positive
parenting practices influence socio-emotional and cognitive-linguistic outcomes of
children with Autism (Siller and Sigman, 2008; Smith and Anderson, 2014).
In this chapter the role of the family in supporting the social inclusion of their
child with ASD will be examined, with a particular focus on self-determination,
self-advocacy, social skills development, and home–school collaboration. Two
case studies will be presented to demonstrate how families and schools can work

11

THE ROLE OF FAMILIES IN

SUPPORTING SOCIAL INCLUSION

Iva Strnadová