Working with Families of Special Need Students

Pacercenter. (December 5, 2014). Special Education: What Do Parents Need to Know. [Video Post]. Retrieved on June 2, 2017, from: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bgnM7OrPVP0

Having a child with disabilities has a huge impact on a family. Smith (2016), explains that families are impacted in many ways and some of the ways they are impacted are the financial burden, stress, depression, refusal of the diagnosis, lack or resources and knowledge, lack of support, and lack of confidence. Smith (2016) lists the following ways schools can assist families with these burdens (p. 209, para. 2):

Financial Burden

• Assist the family in securing social service supports.
• Assign a school social worker to the family.
• Establish and coordinate family support groups.
• Assist families with applying for social security disability payments.

Impact on Siblings

• Establish coordinate a sibling support group.
• Provide opportunities for siblings to participate in the special education process.
• Assign a school social worker to the family.

Marital Problems

• Establish and coordinate family support groups.
• Assign a school social worker to the family.
• Be considerate of any problems exhibited by the student that may stem from marital conflict.

Limited Time

• Provide training in time management.
• Schedule meetings around parents' time and availability.
• Provide training in areas parents can assist with home-based interventions.
• Provide transportation for parents to attend meetings.
• Hold meetings at a location convenient to parents.

Complex Special Education Process

• Provide written materials related to the process.
• Supply parents with an advocate.
• Establish and coordinate family support groups.
• Ensure that parents feel comfortable asking questions at any time.
• Provide multiple opportunities for communication with parents.

Smith (2016) explains that the ultimate goal is for families to accept their special needs child. Parents understanding the nature of the disability and accepting their child as having this disability will make the special education process a positive experience (Smith, 2016). According to Smith (2016, p. 210, para. 3), there are several ways schools can assist families in understanding and accepting their child with special needs by doing the following:
1. Helping family members understand the nature of the child's disability. 
2. Actively listening to family members concerns and needs. 
3. Ensuring that families feel the goal of the school is to provide the necessary interventions to help the student achieve success. 
4. Being sensitive to the parents' reactions when learning their child has a disability. 
5. Being sensitive to the parents' reactions when learning their child has a disability. 
6. Realizing that actions taken by the school can have a major impact on how families engage in collaborative activities with the school.

For the student with disabilities to be successful in school it is necessary for parents and schools to collaborate and communicate. More opportunities are created for this to happen when a student has disabilities. IDEA requires students with disabilities are provided an appropriate educational program which also requires schools to involve parents in the education process. It is a legal mandate to involve parents. Smith (2016) explains that when parents are involved in the child's education, schools are better prepared in providing a more sound educational program. No one knows the child better than their parent. The information they provide is vital and crucial in helping the child succeed in school.

IDEA and Section 504 provide legal rights for parents of children with special needs. Smith (2016) lists the following (p. 212, para 3):

• Right of fair, not racially or culturally discriminatory tests and test procedures used to identify children.
• Right for assessments to be administered in the native language of the home.
• Right for identification to be based on more than a single assessment procedure.
• Right for the procedural safeguards notice to: include a full explanation of the procedural safeguards written in the parents' native language and to be written in understandable language.

Documentation is extremely important. Schools must provide document each step that is related to procedural rights and develop specific forms that should be used for documentation purposes. Other forms, other than the parents' rights form, can be used.  Some of these forms include the following:
referral form, request for evaluation, IEP, annual review, functional behavior assessment, and behavioral intervention plan.

The IDEA and Section 504 legally require parental involvement allowing equal opportunities for parents to be involved in their child's education process (Smith, 2016).  Smith lists the following as responsibilities for family involvement (2016, p. 214, para. 3):

• Responsibility to respond to school requests for participation.
• Responsibility to attend meetings.
• Responsibility to respond to school requests for consent.
• Responsibility to become engaged in the process.
• Responsibility to ask questions.
• Responsibility to express concerns and goals for the student.
• Responsibility to support academic and behavioral interventions outside the school.
• Responsibility to engage in conflict resolution procedures when there is disagreement with school personnel.

Smith (2016) recommends schools use these following steps in facilitating a positive partnership with families (p. 215, para. 1):

1. Be positive, proactive, and solution oriented.
2. Respect the role and cultural background of families.
3. Ensure there is consistent communication with families, which includes being a good listener to family concerns and display a willingness to work together with family members.
4. Use simple, natural supports to help meet student's needs.
5. Empower families and students to ensure their ability to address global needs of students.