Developing Culturally Responsive Educational Psychology Practice Working with Black African Parents of Autistic Children

Supervisors: Dr Hanna Kovshoff, Professor Sarah Parsons

Recent global events such as the COVID-19 pandemic have highlighted ethnic disparities in the experiences of people from different cultural backgrounds accessing services in the United Kingdom, and have consequentially ignited conversations within public services about the importance of working in a way which meets the needs of all service users.

This includes the services provided by Educational Psychologists (EPs); a workforce of predominantly white-identifying women.

Increases in multiculturalism in the United Kingdom, particularly in London Local Authorities, combined with both increases in diagnoses and awareness of autism, has meant Educational Psychologists are increasingly working with children and families who share different cultural backgrounds to their own, requiring the educational psychologist to work in a "Culturally Responsive" way.

Parents and caregivers from Black African cultural backgrounds can hold differing views to professionals supporting them about what autism means to them and their families, particularly in their child's early years when conversations around autism may be new and unfamiliar.

This understanding of autism may be influenced by a range of factors including community expectations, religious beliefs and parental life experiences, and educational psychologists must adapt and evolve their practice to be able to work closely with the family around the child, to maximise engagement with support and improve outcomes for Black African autistic children.

This research investigates the lived experiences of Educational Psychologists working with Black African families alongside a systematic review of the existing literature about the experiences of Black African parents of autistic children in the United Kingdom.