New Survey Finds Two-Thirds of Parents Concerned About Their Child’s Overall Growth and Development

NEW YORK, NY (Oct. 8, 2024)—Two-thirds of parents say they are concerned about their child’s overall growth and development, but many parents face barriers in accessing the right support services. The new survey of parents of school-aged children was released today, conducted by Talker Research on behalf of Presence, a leading provider of PreK–12 remote evaluation and teletherapy services.

Another two-thirds of parents worry their child is not reaching their full potential. When asked to rank their top concerns about their child, 37% of parents said emotional well being, 28% said social development, 24% said future preparedness, 23% said behavioral issues, and 14% said potential learning disabilities. An overwhelming majority (85%) of parents said they notice something that concerns them about their child on a monthly basis, with 20% indicating it’s a daily occurrence. This was especially true for parents of elementary school children, as 28% notice something concerning every day.

The survey, which drew responses from 2,000 parents across the country with children in pre-K through grade 12, sought to examine parent perspectives of their child’s learning and development in the wake of the pandemic, as well as understand barriers to seeking support services for their child. Among the key findings:

• Parents attribute their child’s academic and emotional setbacks to the pandemic. Half of parents said they believe their child was set back by the COVID-19 pandemic. When asked to rank how, parents responded quality of education (50%), learning loss (41%) and social and emotional development (40%). Behavior changes, such as increased difficulty with school work (38%), changes in academic performance or interest (37%), increased irritability (35%) and changes in sleep patterns (35%) also became apparent following the pandemic. And 21% said the pandemic affected their child’s access to special education services.
• Parents fear their child won’t “catch up.” Over four years since the onset of the pandemic, 53% of parents said they believe their child is still academically behind, and 91% of those parents worry they will stay behind for the rest of their schooling. About half (49%) of parents said they believe their child is still playing “catch up” due to gaps of knowledge in core subjects. As a result, 42% of parents said they are more stressed than ever about their child’s academic success.
• Parents feel ready to advocate for their child. Almost all parents (92%) agreed they would go to “any lengths necessary” to get their child the support they need, with 88% willing to call in a third-party, outside of school, to help their child.
• Parents face barriers to accessing resources and support for their child. When asked what has prevented parents from seeking resources and support for their child from any source, 28% of parents said financial concerns, 21% of parents admitted to not knowing where to get help, and 17% of parents said long wait times to get assessed at school. Moreover, 72% said other people’s opinions have an impact on their willingness to get their child assessed for a learning disability.

View all survey findings here.

“Our team at Presence has deeply experienced the stress involved in seeking answers, both in our company’s work addressing diverse needs in schools and as caregivers and parents ourselves. We understand how it feels to worry your child is falling behind and to not know where to seek help,” said Kate Eberle Walker, CEO of Presence. “The survey results illuminate an urgent need to ensure timely access to high-quality support services. I’m encouraged by the increasing number of school districts that have embraced innovative technology to accelerate progress in offering solutions to meet the moment.”

The survey results come as school systems across the country attempt to address the growing need for special education services and widespread shortages of qualified staff to provide those services.

“The COVID-19 pandemic brought unprecedented challenges that affected an entire generation of students,” said Bonnie Contreras, Nationally Certified School Psychologist and Senior Director of Clinical Solutions at Presence. “Survey results found that 72% of parents believe learning loss is fixable. This ongoing impact is a call to action for schools and communities to come together, working to support students in every environment to shape brighter academic futures.”

Presence has partnered with more than 10,000 schools and a network of more than 2,000 remote clinicians to ensure students have access to evaluation and therapy services–wherever they are–and to add capacity to overstretched school staff.

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About Presence

Inspired to drive solutions for the national shortage of school clinicians, Presence is unlocking the potential of schools and clinicians by removing traditional barriers to success through an elevated approach to teletherapy. As a trusted leader since 2009, Presence is innovating how schools assess and address student special education-related and mental health needs. By equipping the largest network of teletherapy providers with award-winning technology and end-to-end clinical support, Presence is meeting the needs of schools, students, and clinicians today—wherever they are. With 6 million remote evaluations and teletherapy sessions conducted throughout the U.S., schools and clinicians trust the experience and expertise of Presence, a pioneer in school-based teletherapy. Presence is teletherapy, elevated.