Today’s Families and Their Partnerships with Professionals Chapter 4

Who are the Holley’s What are some challenges this family faces? Describe some parental difficulties What are your thoughts on Jamie being away from his family for long periods of time in order for the boys to stay in their schools

Definition of Family What is your definition of a family? How does your definition include or exclude certain groups of people? How will your family change in the next 5 years? In the next 10 years?

Demographics 35% of students with disabilities come from families with annual income less than 25,000 20% of students without disabilities come from families with annual income less than 25,000 22% youth with disabilities come from families where head of household has less than a high school education vs. 13% youth without disabilities

Individual Characteristics Youth with Disabilities Youth without Disabilities No biological parent present 19 3 Biological father present 4 Biological mother present 35 21 Both biological parents present 42 73 Single-parent household 36 26 Average number of children in household 2 Percentage of youth with disabilities living in a single-parent household is significantly higher

Domains of Family Life Emotional well-being Parenting Family interaction Physical/material well-being Disability-related support

Emotional well-being Feelings or affective considerations within the family Friends of others who provide support The support families need to relieve stress Time to pursue own interests Outside help available to care for special needs

Parenting Activities that adult family members do to help children grow and develop Know how to help their child learn to be independent Know how to help their child with schoolwork and activities Know how to teach their child to get along with others Know how to have time to take care of the individual needs of every child

Family Interaction Relationship among family members Enjoy spending time together Talk openly with each other Solve problems together Show they love and care for each other

Physical/Material well-being Resources available to the family to meets its members’ needs Transportation Take care of expenses Feel safe at home, work, school, and in the neighborhood Medical and dental care

Children of Poverty IQ scores are 5-13 points lower Children develop vocabulary later 11% dropout rate (5 times higher than families in the top 20% of income distribution)

Disability-related support Support from family members and others to benefit the person with a disability Achieve goals at school or work Make progress at home Make friends Have a good relationship between the family and service providers

Survey results (500 parents) 45% parents believe special education program is failing in preparing for life after high school 35% special ed. program is failing as a reliable source of information about disabilities 35% frustrated in seeking special ed. services 33% believe current school is doing a fair or poor job in giving their child what they need

Partnership Principles Communication Professional competence Respect Commitment Equality Advocacy Trust Communication: be friendly, listen, be clear, hones, and provide and coordinate information Professional competence: providing a quality education, continuing to learn, setting high expectations Respect: honor cultural diversity, affirm strengths, treat students and families with dignity Commitment: be available and accessible, go above and beyond, be sensitive to emotional needs Equality: share power, foster empowerment, provide options Advocacy: seek win-win solutions, prevent problems, keep your conscience primed, pinpoint and document problems, and form alliances Trust: be reliable, use sound judgment, maintain confidentiality, trusting yourself

When is the first time you were able to …..? Choose which food to eat first Choose toys to play with Choose your bed time Get yourself dressed Choose what clothes to wear Tie your shoes Choose what extracurricular hobby/activity you like to do

When is the first time you were able to …..? Cont. Go on a sleepover Baby-sit another person Drive a car Have a bank account of your own Call up friends on the phone Choose who to be friends with Get your own email account

Now think How would the time line be different if you had a disability? What activities do you think you would not do on your own? What activities would be added if you had a disability?