Abstract
Purpose. The purpose of this study was to identify and describe the grieving process experienced by parents of children with severe intellectual disabilities during the special education identification (labeling) process as perceived by parents. In addition, the purpose of this study was to determine if there are differences in the parental grieving experience between the parents of children with severe intellectual disabilities who have different primary disability labels (e.g., autism, other health impairment, mental retardation/intellectual disability, etc.), as perceived by parents. Methodology. This descriptive research utilized a mixed-method concurrent nested strategy. A survey designed to gather both quantitative and qualitative data was utilized. The instrument used to collect data was a survey developed and field-tested by the researcher entitled Special Education Labeling: The Parent Experience. The primary method of data collection was quantitative and secondary method qualitative. The primary quantitative portion of the study data were collected using a survey, and qualitative data collection nested within this survey gave participants the opportunity to further communicate their perception of the special education labeling process. Findings. Parents of children with severe disabilities are resilient in their outlook and behavior. The quantitative data indicated that parents reported experiencing more positive than negative feelings. The qualitative data indicated that approximately 25% of the parents experienced anger or related negative feelings. Parents were generally satisfied with the special education process and considered school district program specialists and regional center staff the most useful resources for information and support. The parents of children identified with autism reported more positive feelings than did parents of children identified with intellectual disabilities. Conclusions. Parents of children with special needs grieve in a manner consistent with the resilience trajectory, and school districts should revise practice to proactively support all children with special needs in lieu of reactively responding to the demands of resilient parents who may be "coping ugly" in their pursuit of a preferred label and/or resources. Parents of children labeled with autism present with a higher level of resilience than do parents of children labeled with intellectual disabilities, and school districts should be more comprehensive and inclusive when determining special education labels.