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Disability Services Products

Family Support

Programs to Support Families of Children with Special Needs

Developed by a national task force of Resource Access Projects (RAPs) and University Affiliated Facilities (UAFs), this manual provides the core of a recent nationwide training effort to help Head Start agencies establish support systems for families which include children with disabilities. The programs described in this manual include:

  • Family Support Aide Programs (with paid or volunteer aides) for parents who are isolated and who do not use available resources;
  • Parent Education Groups for parents who will benefit from additional information about parenting and/or about their child's special needs; and,
  • Parent Support Groups for parents who will benefit from peer support.

The manual also discusses other forms of family support including parent-to-parent programs and support programs for siblings and extended family members. The programs described were field tested in five sites: Boston, Kansas City, Portland, Washington, D.C., and Chapel Hill, N.C. (521-page manual; 3-ring vinyl binder) $65.

Working with Families

 Originally published in 1975, this 154-page manual is available with an updated parent's guide for transitioning to public school. Topics include: staff development, assessing the needs of parents, parent support strategies, parents and professional advocacy, and additional resources. The accompanying parent's guide addresses the transition into the public school program. Topics include parent rights under PL 94-142 (and PL 99-457) and the IEP process. Both publications $15.

Cross- program Training

For Special Needs Children in Adoptive or Foster Care

 Preschoolers in foster or adoptive placement are served and cared for by three groups of adults: their foster or adoptive parents, their teachers and department of social services personnel. Often, effective communication between these three groups is lacking. Needed services are often duplicated by two or more service providers. Sometimes a needed service may be overlooked.

Cross-Program Training is designed to stimulate communication and cooperation among the adults who are responsible for planning and providing care and services to these special needs children. Some children who enter foster or adoptive placement are developmentally disabled. Others have health problems or physical impairments. Many have unique emotional problems, stemming from the trauma of being separated from their natural families. Any physical, mental, or emotional departure from the "norm" may be classified as a "special need."

The manual includes all the materials needed to plan, implement and evaluate a local, community-based "cross-program" training project. 597-page manual, 3-ring vinyl binder. $45

Questions about these products? E-mail Yvette Layden

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