It frequently is suggested that parents underutilize assistive technology (AT) for their young children with disabilities despite wide spread recommended practices for providing optimal AT interventions (i.e., devices and services). However, neither parent perspectives of AT underutilization or families' experiences with AT have been reported in…

The issue highlights two articles on the topic of legal and educational factors in serving handicapped students. The first, "Governance and Management of Special Education: A Exploratory Analysis of New York City" by N. Bordier, reviews the impact of P.L. 94-142 (the Education for All Handicapped Children Act) on policies and practices…

The manual is designed to provide special education preschool teachers with a guide for parent involvement activities. The guide presents 32 activities divided into three topical areas: (1) communicating with parents (orientation packet, newsletter, school-home notebook, bulletin board for parents); (2) resource activities (field trips, home…

The research effort focused on the communication needs of school professionals and parents of handicapped children. The research sample, drawn from a 20 county area of North Central Texas, was comprised of 447 parents/advocates of the handicapped and 606 school professionals (special teachers and mainstream teachers) serving the handicapped in…

Instructions are given for conducting a workshop to enhance communication between parents of exceptional children and educators. Ten activities, designed for a day long workshop, are broken down in terms of time, description, purpose, setting, materials, and methods. Among suggestions are activities to identify and prioritize areas of common…

A parent involvement model is described for organizing parent participation in preschool programs for the handicapped and identifying parent and professional training goals. The model supports planning based on specified parental needs, parent roles and activities, and professional support. (CL)

Interactions among parents and teachers are viewed from a transactional analysis (TA) perspective. Crossed transactions are depicted and adult-adult exchanges are cited as the bases of good parent/teacher relationships. (CL)

The study, involving six elementary-age special education students, evaluated the effects of a parent-teacher communication system which used a daily recorded telephone message as a communications link between parents and the students' teacher. (Author)

A framework for understanding and changing conflict between teachers and parents of handicapped children is presented. Specific steps are seen to include reassessing blame-oriented assumptions about the parent's motives, understanding the stress experienced by parents of exceptional children, developing a sense of shared goals and feelings…

Presents information to facilitate ideal family involvement in early intervention. Strategies for conducting family assessments while building collaborative partnerships with families are presented. Characteristics which produce effective collaborative partnerships are reviewed, and the reality of working with families is presented through two…

These guidelines for developing cooperative parent-teacher relationships first identify counterproductive practices (such as forcing the parents of children with disabilities into predetermined roles) and then explain helpful strategies, including developing an atmosphere of trust and respect, working toward a truly collaborative relationship, and…

This article presents seven steps to facilitate effective communication between schools and parents with the explanation of each step followed by an example of its application with a hypothetical student and his family. Steps include: assign a facilitator; acknowledge accomplishments; meet routine; establish predictability; keep it simple; make…

How can families and early childhood professionals provide quality, inclusive early childhood education for young children with and without disabilities? That's the question posed in this "Impact "issue. In its pages, parents reflect on their experiences with early childhood education and inclusion for their children--what was helpful, what was…

The study, involving 31 mothers of handicapped children enrolled in North Carolina preschools, addressed the parents' perspectives on preschool services for themselves and their children. A two-phase interview strategy was used in which the parents were treated as "experts" who would provide answers to the previously identified broad…

Implementation of the Parent Involvement Program at a low income neighborhood primary school involved training teachers; selecting and training the home-school liaison person and involving parents. Since its inception in 1979 participation of the approximately 400 parents in parent teacher conferences increased from about 0.5% to 100% and…