Challenges the message of "biopsychiatry," the belief that all mental illness is biologically based, genetic in origin, and incurable, and can only be treated chemically. Suggests that the epidemic drugging of school-age children is an act of despair. Highlights one family's experience in getting appropriate treatment without medication for their…

Family and consumer sciences (FCS) professionals often are called upon to work with groups that are seeking to create healthier communities. This article offers an expanded perspective on what it means to include a family focus in these discussions and it answers the question, How does a family perspective lead to different solutions for creating…

Most people spend all year looking forward to the time of holidays and the celebration and reflection it brings. Although family traditions abound with hearty food and holiday cheer, the holidays can also be stressful for parents of children who have attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder (ADHD). In this article, the author provides several tips…

In this article, we share how 2 multilingual/multicultural school communities work to build strong relationships with immigrant families to support parent involvement and language minority student achievement. (Contains 1 footnote.)

Teacher educators have long recognized the importance of adequately preparing preservice teachers for their work with families. Preservice teachers express many concerns that they believe may impact the development of comfortable and collaborative relationships with members of children's families. In a previous study, the authors found that…

There is ample evidence that positive involvement of families in children's learning can be a major contribution. Where to start is often a challenge, however, especially in the numeracy area. As part of the Australian Government's "Numeracy Research and Development Initiative" a team led by Beth Powell in Western Australia has developed…

One difficulty in monitoring the quality of family--professional partnerships has been the lack of a psychometrically acceptable and sufficiently general instrument with which to assess them. The current work describes the development of the Family--Professional Partnership Scale, which assesses parents' perceptions of the importance of and their…

Chinese traditional and contemporary families are introduced specific to their structure, cultural background, and socioeconomic status and gender roles, followed by an introduction to the relationship between family-centered practices in early childhood special education (ECSE) and current practices in China. Given the specific characteristics of…

Successful collaboration and problem solving are the foundational processes on which meaningful transition plans are constructed. This article discusses the process of planning for the transition from school to adult life for students with disabilities and suggests that person-centered planning is an ideal vehicle for promoting collaboration and…

Surveys of tribal program directors and staff examined the extent to which American Indian vocational rehabilitation (VR) (Section-130) projects used the family and other natural support systems to provide comprehensive rehabilitation services to transition age adolescents and adults with disabilities. Responses were received from directors of 18…

The first of the National Education Goals calls for every child to be ready to learn when entering kindergarten. Noting that children are more likely to succeed when schools and families are prepared for each other, this book describes the grassroots efforts of The W.K. Kellogg Foundation School Readiness Initiatives to link families, schools, and…

The primary purpose of this handbook is to provide the parent coordinator of the parent-powered family resource center with a specific guide for the development of a center. The handbook considers that a family resource center should exist to encourage family-school partnerships and to help strengthen parent-child interaction--it provides a…

The paper presents core competencies which are appropriate across service delivery models and across disciplines for training personnel in early intervention. Part I provides a historic perspective on practices, child development research, the federal role, children served, family involvement, and the need for early intervention. Part II contains…

This report synthesizes the discussions which took place at an international conference on profound mental handicap held in Madrid, Spain (November, 1984). An overview of the issues involved in helping people with profound handicaps cites several positive trends, such as education for all, family support services, home visitations by direct care…

This report examines the procedures employed in the Home Start Program, which offered prekindergarten readiness enrichment for economically disadvantaged children, ages two through five. The program focused on regular visits to the home by paraprofessional home workers, and took into account parental needs as well as the multifaceted development…