The Social Networks of Parents with Children with Complex Communication Needs During the COVID-19 Pandemic

Abstract

Parents of children with intellectual and developmental disabilities who have complex communication needs experience unique stressors, particularly due to the COVID-19 pandemic with changes to children’s educational and therapeutic services. In the broader literature, research suggests that both formal and informal social supports reduce parent stress and are critical predictors of parent involvement at home and in the school. This study used egocentric social network analysis to examine (a) the nature of the size and composition of parents' social networks related to their child's learning and (b) how informational, tangible, emotional, and esteem-related supports are exchanged in these networks.