Disabled moms
The parent panel: supporting children with special needs.
Parents and teachers can collaborate and cooperate to meet children's specific needs. By working together, everyone - parents, teachers, and children - benefits.
The 1997 reauthorization of P.L. 105-17 (The Individuals With Disabilities Education Act, or IDEA) requires educators to work with parents of children with disabilities as partners in the process of education (Bailey et al., 1998). One means for satisfying IDEA's legal mandate is the parent panel approach to parental/educator collaboration. As parents gain confidence in using their communication and advocacy skills with professionals from early intervention programs (Rockwell, Andre, & Hawley, 1995), they will be ready to take an active role in providing school personnel with necessary information about their children.
Parents, of course, are a key source of vital information about their children because they have firsthand knowledge of their children's physical, social, emotional, and cognitive traits (Hedrick, 1997). Parental involvement, therefore, is indispensable to early intervention, and teachers should focus on strengthening such involvement.
Parents and teachers can collaborate and cooperate to meet children's specific needs. By working together, everyone - parents, teachers, and children - benefits. Useful collaborative strategies include one-on-one conferences, team meetings, and home visits. The success of the interactions depends upon, in part, appropriate communication, resolution of conflicts, and mutual respect (Bathshaw, 1991), and it may also be contingent upon a teacher's awareness of different cultural perspectives on communication and child rearing practices (Washington, 1996). Although it is impossible to understand all cultural viewpoints, teachers can at least analyze their personal reactions to information shared by parents. When teachers and parents are discussing methods of behavior management, for example, teachers must be aware of their own opinions about personal discipline methods. By exchanging opinions about management strategies, teachers and parents can reach a better understanding of how to discipline specific children (Sturm, 1997). In order for parents to consider themselves to be trusted, valued, and equal partners in the education process, a teacher must listen objectively and respond appropriately. Parents benefit most when provided with encouragement and precise feedback (Brinkerhoff & Vincent, 1987).
The Parent Panel
The parent panel is one approach to building appropriate communication, resolving conflicts, and creating mutual respect between teachers and parents of children with disabilities. The parent panel typically consists of three to six parents, providing them a forum for candid discussion about what it is like to have a child with a disability. Research documents the advantages of this approach (Payne, Robinson, & Todd, 1997). The approach provides different benefits to parents and teachers. These include:
Advantages to Parents
* Strength and safety in numbers. Parents feel comfortable getting support from fellow panel members (Smith, 1997).
* Invited views. Parents' ideas are valued precisely because their views are solicited. Parents who serve as panel members can provide useful information, including personal anecdotes related to the unique experiences of their children, as well as their desires and wishes for their children's development (Hedrick, 1997).
* Trusted team members. Parent participants become trusted as team members once they display a willingness to listen, an ability to empathize, and a proficiency in the teaming process (Hedrick, 1997).
Advantages to Teachers
* A broader cultural perspective. Through the parent panel approach, parents can share cultural information that teachers would not typically request. Such information is valuable because it enables teachers to respond and adapt to a variety of cultural styles (Sturm, 1997).
* Help with conflict resolution. Having people interact in a large group setting can help reduce one-on-one conflicts. Focusing on children with disabilities in general, rather than on specific children with special needs, may prevent such conflicts. This is advantageous to parents, as well (Bailey & Wolery, 1992).
* Increased open-mindedness. Teachers learn to listen objectively, without the pressure of responding or defending their position.
* Historical benefits. By sharing their children's past experiences with teachers, parents can provide valuable and beneficial chronological information, which gives teachers a comprehensive view of each child.
Setting Up the Parent Panel
When setting up the parent panel, several factors must be considered, including parent and teacher schedules and the presentation site. It is important when planning a parent panel to accommodate both parents' and teachers' schedules. Such panels may be held during faculty meetings, inservice training, or special conferences. The parent panel should convene at least twice during the school year. Site locations could include school areas such as classrooms or more neutral settings (e.g., a small community center). A small, intimate site is best, to help create a comfortable, nonthreatening atmosphere.
Another variable to consider when planning for a parent panel is the room arrangement, including the proximity of the panel members to the audience. Having the panel sit behind tables provides parents a buffer from the audience. The table also can be used to display such items as photographs of children, posters, and audio- or videotapes. Such items provide a glimpse into family culture.
Still another consideration is the panel's cultural makeup. The panel should be diverse, representing the community in which the panel members reside. A diverse panel will allow for a broad array of parents' opinions.
Guidelines for Panel Content
When asked to participate in a forum such as the parent panel, parents often need guidelines to help them sift through and focus on relevant aspects of their children's lives. Such guidelines will help frame parents' issues and concerns, and will help them communicate concerns to teachers and other professionals. For these reasons, the content of the parents' presentation should focus on the following:
* Their children and families
* Background and historical information concerning the child with special needs
* Personal anecdotes.
For example, parents may relate details about a child's physical, emotional, social, and cognitive growth and development, starting from birth. They could describe their interactions with medical personnel, including what information they first learned about the child's disability, and how the pediatrician (or other professional) shared the information. Bluntly? With sensitivity? Parents also may recount stories of educators' reactions to their child's enrollment in school or child care. Stories about transitions from one program setting to another also may be informative and revealing. Guidelines provide parents with a structure for delivering specific information about their children with special needs, and they can take professionals on a "tour" of the children's past and present experiences. Parents must be fully assured that information shared as part of the panel presentation will remain confidential. As a safeguard, all persons present at the panel meetings should be required to sign forms prohibiting use of material addressed by panel members.
One Example of the Parent Panel in Action
One sultry July morning, three mothers met with 26 teachers and two college professors to share their views of having young children with disabilities (Payne, Robinson, & Todd, 1997). The following comments showcase the parents' presentations that day, and they provide a glimpse into their lives.
Comments from Parent # 1
Sometimes the shaky voice means I'm emotional, but sometimes my voice is shaky just because I never speak in front of a lot of people.
Boy, Adam has come a long way. The neurologist did not know if he would walk or talk.
The pediatrician laughed when I related that I had seen 13 doctors. I didn't think it was funny. I was [the one] paying the bills.
I feel guilty when I medicate my child.
[The] preschool director's response to me about the initial placement of my child [was], "Don't call us. We'll call you."
Comments from Parent # 2
I said, He can't walk and he can't . . . and he can't . . . but please listen to me about what he can do!
The hardest is when you sit down for that IEP. I dread to hear what they may say.
Teachers, always have hope. Parents of special needs children have to have hope.
Parents, you are not a pain. What you do for your child, you are also doing for others who come after him.
Comments from Parent # 3
It was going so smoothly until October. Samuel brought home his first negative report. The next day he cried before going to school.
We loved the teacher. The teacher loved our child. [We were] just trying to bring the teacher in touch with where we have been and where we are now.
I was the driver on a field trip and had Samuel and three of his friends in the car. A comment by Samuel's friend was, "You're going to get a fine. You are parking in a handicapped parking place." I replied that I had a card to park in the handicapped parking place. He replied, "Well, who do you know that is handicapped?"
Some of the teachers' responses to the parent panel presentation follow:
Comments from Teachers
Thank goodness these were tough parents.
I will be so much more understanding. This is not something I could have learned from reading my textbook.
I will be careful when I am responding to a child with special needs. The way I treat him can make his life miserable or happy.
Even though doctors are highly trained and are supposed to have the answers, they are often limited in their knowledge of specific disabilities.
Conclusion
The parents of a child with a disability can play an integral role in their child's education as full partners in the education process. By sharing information through the parent panel approach, the participants - including parents, teachers, and other professionals - will be complying with the spirit of federal law, and, more important, enhancing the life of the child with special needs.
References
Bailey, D. B., Jr., McWilliam, R. A., Darkes, L. A., Hebbeler, K., Simeonsson, R. J., Spiker, D., & Wagner, M. (1998). Family outcomes in early intervention: A framework for program evaluation and efficacy research. Exceptional Children, 64(3), 314.
Bailey, D. B., & Wolery, M. (1992). Teaching infants and preschoolers with disabilities. (2nd ed.). Englewood Cliffs, NJ: Merrill.
Bathshaw, M. L. (1991). Your child has a disability: A complete source book of daily and medical care. Boston: Little, Brown.
Brinkerhoff, J., & Vincent, L. (1987). Increasing parental decision-making at the individualized program meeting. Journal of the Division of Early Childhood, 11, 46-58.
Hedrick, L. (1997). Parents and professionals working together. In L. L. Dunlap (Ed.), An introduction to early childhood special education (pp. 118-136). Boston: Allyn and Bacon.
Payne, J., Robinson, R., & Todd, N. (1997, July). Parents and teachers working together: The parent panel. In S. V. Duckworth & P. H. Kostell (Co-chairs), Teaching young children with disabilities: Curriculum development and implementation. Presentation delivered at the meeting of South Carolina State Department of Education, Office of Programs for Exceptional Children, grant funded course, Winthrop University, Rock Hill, SC.
Rockwell, R. E., Andre, L. C., & Hawley, M. K. (1995). Parents and teachers as partners: Issues and challenges. Fort Worth, TX: Harcourt Brace College Publishers.
Smith, P. M. (1997). You are not alone: For parents when they learn that their child has a disability. NICHCY (National Information Center for Children and Youth with Disabilities) News Digest, 20(2), 3.
Sturm, C. (1997). Creating parent-teacher dialogue: Intercultural communication in child care. Young Children, 52(5), 34-38.
Washington, V. (1996). Valuing diversity: A key to grassroots success. Journal of Early Intervention, 20(2), 179-182.
Susanna V. Duckworth is Professor, Special Education, Winthrop University, Rock Hill, South Carolina. Patricia H. Kostell is an Educational Consultant, Rock Hill, South Carolina.
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