Parents' lived experiences regarding the decision‐making process on reasonable accommodations for their child with SEN—An IPA analysis

Abstract

Reasonable accommodations (RA) for children with special educational needs (SEN) need to be decided in collaboration with all stakeholders. Even though parents play a crucial part in the inclusive school trajectory or their child with SEN, they often miss a clear role in this decision‐making process. In this research, using interpretative phenomenological analysis (IPA), six parents of children with SEN were questioned. The analysis showed that parents are bound to the decisive character of school professionals and find themselves along the spectrum of being actively involved to being followers. There are often opposite perspectives, and in many cases insufficient RA are decided upon according to parents. This resulted in diagnostic trajectories and a search for support outside the school environment. In many cases, parents perceived the decision‐making process on RA for their child with SEN as a life‐long journey and a never‐ending process. In the end, enabling factors were expressed by parents that facilitated the decision‐making process on RA.