Exploring relationships between teachers and students with diagnosed disabilities: A multi-informant approach

This study explored unique associations of student disabilities (ADHD, ASD, dyslexia) with teacher-, student- and peer-perceptions of student–teacher relationship quality. Sixty-three teachers, 510 students, and classmates from 24 Dutch mainstream elementary schools completed questionnaires about the student–teacher relationship quality. Teachers indicated whether students were diagnosed with disabilities. Multilevel models indicated that both teachers and classmates, but not students with ADHD themselves, reported higher levels of conflict in relationships. Additionally, teachers experienced less closeness and more conflict in relationships with children with ASD. The lower levels of closeness were also reported by classmates, but not by students with ASD themselves. Last, students with dyslexia experienced less closeness and conflict with their teacher, whereas their classmates and teachers reported more closeness and less conflict in relationships.