At Special Needs Jungle, we believe families should be active partners in every aspect of their child’s learning and support. That’s why we’re spotlighting this research taking place at the University of Birmingham, which asks how families can be meaningfully involved in shaping the support children receive in the classroom. This is seen as a ‘2-generational approach’, which is explored in this article by Dr Barbara Sandland.
A 2-generational approach recognises that real progress happens when parents and children grow together through shared tools, strategies, and reflection. The article also includes ten key questions parents can ask their child’s school about interventions that they are running with their child, helping families understand what’s being taught, why it matters, and how to stay connected throughout the process. It also provides an exciting opportunity for families in the West Midlands to get involved with research involving QTrobot, an expressive social robot designed to support the education of autistic children.
Why should early help strategies only help the child? By Dr Barbara Sandland, University of Birmingham
Traditional ideas about interventions in the classroom are often based on an outdated understanding of learning. These ideas suggest an ‘expert’ can deliver a programme as a way of passing on knowledge to the ‘less knowledgeable’ individual. The trouble with this is it undervalues many other important elements of the learning process for the child, such as social interaction or the environment. Importantly, it also suggests learning is a one-way process, which it is not – or at least it shouldn’t be!
When we teach something to someone, we often also learn something ourselves. I have lost count of the times I have come away from a classroom or a conversation with my son or daughter, and I know I have learned as much from them as they have from me. If I’m honest, there are probably times when I’ve learned much more than they have!
This is why we need to reflect on the types of interventions we offer SEND children, considering how interventions are used not only to support the child but also to support the people delivering them. And we know that parents have a key role to play here.
Parent and child learning
Our research team at the University of Birmingham believes getting parents more actively involved with their child’s learning means they not only support their child, but also increase their own knowledge and self-confidence. In turn, this can have a knock-on effect, impacting child-parent interactions and strategies used. This can also have a positive impact on both parties; often called a ‘2-generational’ impact.
The impact of this approach also has the potential for a wider effect. When parents feel more knowledgeable and confident, they are better able to talk to others, for example, to teachers, doctors, or family, about their child’s needs. Similarly, children can carry the skills they learn in the home, both from tasks and from interacting with their parents, into other environments such as school.
10 Questions Every Parent Should Ask About SEND Interventions
When someone else is leading an intervention with your child, it is important to stay informed, involved, and confident in your role. Asking clear, purposeful questions helps ensure the intervention supports your child’s growth, respects your family’s insights, and builds skills that transfer across settings. The questions below are designed to help you advocate effectively, collaborate with professionals, and stay connected to your child’s learning journey.
- What is the program?
- Why have they chosen it?
- What is the intended outcome for my child? (making sure it is measurable)
- How is it supposed to work?
- How can we practice the skills at home?
- Are there strategies being taught that I also need to learn, and if so, how will I learn them?
- How will I know how the program is going?
- How can I report back on our at-home experiences to feed into the learning process?
- How is my child involved in the planning and decision-making within this learning program?
- How will this learning be transferred into other learning environments or with other professionals?
By asking these questions, you stay actively involved in your child’s learning, helping ensure that any proposed intervention is transparent, collaborative, and truly responsive to your child’s needs and strengths.
Key Content
Socially Assistive Robots (SAR) as a 2-Generational Learning Tool
Active, relational engagement is at the heart of 2-generational learning, where both children and adults grow together through shared tools and strategies.
Due to my interest and recognition of the importance of 2-generational learning tools, I am working with a team of researchers at the University of Birmingham, alongside LuxAI and Luxembourg Institute of Health, to explore the impact the Socially Assistive Robot: QTrobot, has on the cognitive, social and language skill development of autistic children in the early years. We also explore the impact on a parent’s sense of knowledge and self-confidence in supporting their autistic child when we give them a QTrobot to use at home.
This is such an exciting piece of work that’s not happening anywhere else in the world. It’s because of three key features:
- Robot: Socially Assistive Robots (SAR) are relatively new, but research is already showing real promise in their use with autistic young people
- At home: Giving parents the power and autonomy to use a robot in the home has not been done before.
- Time: We are reviewing the impact of 10 months of SAR use, which is significantly more time than previous studies. Most research looks at data from on average six weeks of learning programmes.
Our theory
We predict that the combination of these factors could have a positive impact on both the autistic child and the parent.
But this is currently just a theory, so we need research to find out for sure. And we need it to be based on real lived experiences, not laboratory tests that don’t reflect the reality of living in a busy neurodivergent household. One of the central premises of the work of the Autism Centre for Education and Research (ACER) at the University of Birmingham is that our work makes a genuine difference to the lives of autistic people and those who support them.
“We work with the communities we seek to serve, to ensure that ACER’s work makes a genuine difference to people’s day-to-day lives and real-world practice” (ACER).
How to Get Involved in our Research Study
We are looking for families in the West Midlands area with children aged 2½-4 ½ with an autistic profile. This may mean you have a diagnosis of autism, are on a waiting list, or strongly suspect your child is autistic.
We have lots of information we can share with you to check if this study is right for you. Just send us an email at qtrobot@contacts.bham.ac.uk and we will happily share this with you and chat through any questions you may have.
About the Author:
Dr Barbara Sandland is a Research Fellow at the University of Birmingham and Specialist Disabled Student Mentor with Bridge Mentoring.
Barbara has previously worked for many years as a Special Educational Needs Co-ordinator in mainstream secondary schools. As a neurodivergent individual, parent to neurodivergent kids, teacher and scholar, she brings a rare multidimensional perspective that unifies lived experience, professional practice and academic research.
Also Read:
- “It’s not a compliance issue—it’s a design failure” Psychologists call for action on mental health and “harmful” school policies
- How to choose a speech and language therapist for your child with SEND: A guide for parents and carer
- Are behaviour-tracking apps harming SEND children and their families?
- Consultation with parents and carers: What can the Government learn from the SEND Review?
- Neurodiversity and Ableism – a young person’s perspective
- The autistic girls are out there: Losing the gender bias in diagnosing autism
Also read:
- Beyond EHCPs: Why Inclusion Needs More Than a Document
- The Unacceptable Truth: 20 SEND legal rights at risk from the Government’s SEND reforms
- How health and family support systems are failing children starting school
- WEBINAR RECORDING! The implications for children’s legal rights to EHCPs and EOTAS of the Government’s SEND proposals
- When things go right: Shining a light on SEND Practitioners making a positive impact [Giveaway!]
- From suspicion to support: why the Government’s child protection reforms matter for disabled children
- Have your say on the future of transport for disabled children and young people
- Unison voices major concerns over SEND reform health plans for sick and disabled children out of school in the EOTAS consultation
- Top Tips for the EOTAS & EHCP consultation: Protect your child’s rights to statutory SEND support
- Navigating constraints: Why a former PCF chair thinks the current model is missing the mark for families
- Dear Secretary of State for Education, Lucy Powell: an Open Letter from Special Needs Jungle and SEND legal charity SOS!SEN
- Research: Disabled young people define inclusive education as “learning in the place that’s right for them”
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- WEBINAR RECORDING! The implications for children’s legal rights to EHCPs and EOTAS of the Government’s SEND proposals - September 3, 2026
- From suspicion to support: why the Government’s child protection reforms matter for disabled children - August 28, 2026
- Have your say on the future of transport for disabled children and young people - August 25, 2026
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