Parents of handicapped children have special needs that can be addressed by the local parent-teacher association. Findings are offered from a study in Dallas which focused on how families cope with disabled children. (DF)

A study evaluated Parent to Parent mentoring programs in five states. The 56 parents who participated in the program showed statistically significant positive gains on measures of coping, attitude, and progress on addressing problems compared to 72 controls. A qualitative study provided insight into what makes the program work. (Contains…

This Spanish language information brief describes the Parent to Parent Program, which provides information and one-to-one emotional support to parents of children with special needs. The program trains experienced parents in the program and matches them with similar parents new to the program. Benefits of the program include: (1) providing parents…

This report discusses the findings of a study that examined the views of 15 Puerto Rican families of young children with special needs. Information about the beliefs, attitudes, and personal experiences held by these families was collected using an informal, open-ended interview format. Redefinition was a form of internal appraisal focused…

This article reviews resources that offer personal insights and lessons from families of children with disabilities. Five books are reviewed that offer perspectives from fathers and mothers on raising and coping with a child with a disability, along with three Web sites for families of children with disabilities or premature infants. (CR)

This information brief describes the Parent to Parent Program, which provides information and one-to-one emotional support to parents of children who have special needs. In the program, trained and experienced parents are carefully matched in one-to-one relationships with parents who are new to the program. The matches are based upon similarities…

Designed to respond to the information needs of parents of children with disabilities, this digest includes articles on coping with and raising a child with a disability. In the first article, "You Are Not Alone" (Patricia McGill Smith), a parent of a child with a disability speaks candidly about the emotions that many parents of…

This study examined barriers to utilizing services for children, birth to age 3, through in-depth individual and group interviews with 70 parents and direct service personnel of provider agencies in seven Washington counties. Part 1 of this report offers examples and discussion of the difficulties parents have accessing services and how localities…