In the past, parents of children with disabilities have spearheaded several policies for individuals with disabilities. However, little is known about their experiences with legislators. To address this gap, focus groups and surveys about legislative advocacy were conducted with 127 parents of individuals with disabilities across four states. The purpose of the study was to explore parent perceptions about experiences with legislative advocacy including the frequency of, strategies for, and barriers to legislative advocacy. Descriptive statistics were conducted to analyze the survey data; constant comparative analysis was used to analyze the focus group data. Participants reported engaging in various forms of legislative advocacy. Participants shared positive and negative experiences interacting with legislators, including individual and collective advocacy efforts. Some participants did not engage in legislative advocacy due to intimidation. Relationships facilitated legislative advocacy for participants. Implications for future research about legislative advocacy and practices to facilitate legislative advocacy are discussed.

中文翻译：

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残疾儿童父母的立法倡导

过去，残疾儿童的父母带头为残疾人制定了多项政策。但是，他们与立法者的经验知之甚少。为了解决这一差距，与四个州的127名残障人士父母进行了有关立法倡导的焦点小组和调查。该研究的目的是探讨父母对立法倡导经验的看法，包括立法倡导的频率，策略和障碍。进行描述性统计以分析调查数据；持续比较分析用于分析焦点小组数据。与会者报告称参与了各种形式的立法宣传。参与者与立法者互动时分享了积极和消极的经验，包括个人和集体的倡导工作。一些参与者由于恐吓而没有参与立法倡导。关系促进了参与者的立法倡导。讨论了有关立法倡导和促进立法倡导的实践的未来研究的意义。