This column discusses the importance of family participatory research practices with particular regard for vulnerable populations and alternative learning opportunities and the need for an expanded approach to the use of multimodalities in the classroom. The author reflects upon her experience as she conducted her dissertation, a case study with her nephew, an adolescent diagnosed with autism, exploring his use of multimodalities as an expressive practice, and to see how they informed his meaning making. The column addresses the author's various roles and positionality and how the author's use of a reflexive journal provided a space to document any ethical tensions and maximize the ethical practice. The implications and necessity for family research is documented throughout the discussion of several works. The importance of the advancement of family research, particularly within the constructs of literacy learning and individuals with special needs, is emphasized.