A Review
Part A
Working with the families of children with disabilities can be delicate for many reasons, not the least of which is that they may not be able to fully participate in ways which are meaningful (Dunst, 2002, 143). Knowing how to participate can also be difficult due to its changeable nature; in preschool families may be able to participate fully in the education of their child via the provision of special schools which allow for parental interaction during class (Dunst, 2002, 144), or by creating family-specific areas where they can ‘learn-by-doing’ when it comes to their children, perhaps in the context of a therapy appointment where the parents in question could learn from imitating what the therapist is doing(Dunst, 2002, 143), thus allowing them to be fully engaged with their child throughout the process, the same cannot be said for any other age group. In high school, for example, the opportunities for family involvement in the process of education is much more limited (Dunst, 2002, 146) than in preschool. This does not, however, mean that families will be excluded entirely: they could use the time at home to build on what was done during that day, perhaps by re-enacting the classes and appointments which were held during the day (Dunst, 2002, 146). They could also function in the reduced capacity of simply helping their child9ren0 learn and follow up on their own learning at home (Dunst, 2002, 146).
Part B
As far as the relational component of family-centered practice is concerned, the two most important practices would likely be being non-judgemental and empathy (Dunst, 2002, 141). . These skills are extremely important because not only will they allow the practitioner to fully relate to the child’s family, it will also help to foster a link between family and clinician, since without a bond of trust which will ensure that the truth is told at all times, real progress will be difficult.
When it comes to the participatory component of special education, the two most important practices are most likely to be being responsive to family concerns, and providing families the opportunity to be actively involved in decision-making (Dunst, 2002, 141). These two practices will function like the empathy and lack of judgement which should be present in the relational component of the patient-clinician relationship by fostering an environment where the family feels as though they are being kept in the loop as a matter of course, and not as an afterthought.
The best way to create a family-centered practice is to combine relational and participatory components (Dunst, 2002, 141-142), though this does have to be balanced with the best interests of the child(ren) involved. Therefore, to create the ideal clinician-parent relationship, I would try to combine an open-minded nature and a practice which encouraged participation from all members of the family, while still maintaining a space which was verifiably for the good of the child(ren).
Part C
This article has provided many different ways in which children and their parents can be helped in a family-centered special education field. As such, any special education program set up should naturally include at least some of the components Dunst refers to (2002, 141-142). Ideally, such a program would incorporate different levels of parent participation for the three different levels of school, such as actively involving parents in the classroom activities during pre-school programs (Dunst, 144) showing parents empathy during the process of settling the children into a new routine in elementary school (Dunst, 2002, 141); and helping parents to become involved in their child’s schooling by involving them in the learning process at home during high school (Dunst, 2002, 146). Hopefully a full integrated approach to things will enable parents to feel involved in the process.
References
Dunst, C. J. (2002). Family-Centered Practices: Birth Through High School. Journal of Special Education 36(3): 141-149. DOI: 10.1177/00224669020360030401
