The book is intended to help parents of handicapped children secure good special education services for their children. Nine chapters focus on aspects of parent advocacy and include practical information and case studies. Chapter 1 emphasizes the importance of parental knowledge about the educational planning process and the professionals…

The author reviews literature supporting the importance of cooperative parent-teacher relationships for exceptional children and describes a graduate level course offered at Rhode Island College on behavior management for parents and teachers of exceptional children and youth with behavior problems. Both advantages and problems with offering a…

This article first examines what experts and research say about parent involvement and then discusses the attitudes, knowledge, and skills critical for professionals to work effectively with parents of the handicapped. The last section offers practical suggestions for launching a parent program. (Part of a theme issue on mainstreaming.)…

A review of the literature on parental involvement in the education of a child with a disability examines models of parental involvement, barriers to participation, and ideas for training. It concludes that parent-professional partnerships are intended to empower parents and enhance communication. Such partnerships cannot be established without…

This article provides strategies for improving parent information sessions and engaging parents in the support of their children's (including children with disabilities) education. Strategies include using parent-friendly teaching materials, scheduling meetings for family convenience, maintaining a comfortable atmosphere, and providing…

This article is designed to help professionals and parents learn and grow as they work together for the children in their charge. It discusses the levels of awareness parents have about the disability of their child. These include the ostrich phase, special designation of the disability, normalization, and self-actualization. (Contains…

This article describes a family-centered assessment and intervention approach that empowers and enables families of young children with disabilities in the selection and use of assistive technology. Included in the discussion are key characteristics of parent/professional partnerships and effective, helpful practices that facilitate the level of…

This article examines the origins of parent-school conflict, identifies common errors that exacerbate difficulties, provides strategies for resolving conflicts and improving relationships, and proposes an alternate course of action if these approaches fail. Empathetic listening, trust building, and systematic and intuitive modes of problem solving…

This paper identifies and explains principles and practices in empowering parents of children with disabilities to be their advocates. Five models of empowerment are examined: moral, medical, enlightenment, compensatory, and the enabling models of helping. A lack of empirical data on empowerment is reported. (Author/DB)

Twenty parents whose handicapped children were receiving early intervention services were encouraged to participate in formal education and training on individualized family service planning (IFSP). A significantly greater number of present level of development statements were included in IFSP documents of participating parents. Increased numbers…

This article addresses issues in parent-child attachment, identifies the implications such attachment relations have for child development, and provides strategies to facilitate optimal parent-child attachment. Strategies for early child educators include speaking up and helping if awkward attachment relations are sensed and honoring and affirming…

This article discusses the increasing population of children from diverse backgrounds and suggests commonsense methods for team development of cultural competence for the provision of appropriate early intervention services to linguistically and culturally diverse families. Recommendations for using interpreters and developing models for family…

This report describes materials identified during a study of professional training curricula in schools of social work, psychiatric nursing, clinical psychology, special education, and child psychiatry throughout the United States. The purpose of the project was to locate innovative course curricula and other materials designed to promote…

Teachers and other professionals providing education-related services to exceptional children from different cultural backgrounds need to be aware of unique perspectives or communication styles common to those cultures, and need to be sensitive to the different values, experiences, and beliefs about special education that may be held by members of…

The document provides a collection of 33 previously published articles on implementing special education services in the least restrictive environment. Articles are divided into five sections (models for delivery of special education services in the least restrictive environment, training of professionals, individualized education programs,…