Family Partnerships: Who’s at the Table?
Since 1995, I’ve been deeply immersed the dilemma of family partnerships, especially for secondary youth with disabilities.
That topic has been my focus in more than 60 presentations/ workshops across the country, 8 book chapters, 4 journal articles, and graduate courses taught at two universities.
Needless to say, to prepare for all those accomplishments, I’ve spend countless hours consuming research, policy, and theories from many related fields as well as associating with respected thought leaders.
Some might say I have a grasp of the dilemma, but it’s a funny thing. The more you know about something, the more you realize you don’t know. The challenge most often repeated is about the people missing from to the table…or those who come to the table, unprepared to work as partners.
People often tell me how much they appreciate the book that Donna Wandry & I wrote/ edited (with some awesome guest authors), but when I ask what they were able to DO with the book – what actions they have taken, they hesitate.
At this point, nobody has shared a specific action they have been able to take from reading our book. So, why is that? Don’t you love/hate questions like that??? They open you up to looking beyond the obvious. After some reflection, I’ve concluded that our book is Part TWO!
What’s Part ONE, you ask? Dr. Karen Mapp from Harvard recently co-authored Powerful Partnerships, in which she pointed out the obvious. Both families and professionals have preconceived ideas that are barriers to approaching the partnership table. Prior experiences, invisible judgments, attitudes, and beliefs — if unexamined — frequently prevent both families and professionals from coming to the table. What’s becoming clear to me is that until we address those issues, there’s no point in talking about Part TWO.
So how does all this apply to families of secondary students with disabilities who are transitioning to adulthood?
I will explore this dilemma in a FREE Webinar: Problem Parents: Our Untapped Asset (see link below). This webinar will explore three topics:
1. background information about benefits, legal requirements (including the recent Supreme Court decision), and research on family partnerships, focusing on families of secondary transitioning students.
2. my new framework for conceptualizing dual capacity of families and professionals, illustrated with personal anecdotes to make it real.
3. the Family Partnership Cadre that I will launch in January, 2019.
This Webinar will give you a new perspective on the question, “Where do we start?” Feel free to forward this information to anyone who cares about building family partnerships.
Free Webinar
Problem Parents: Our Untapped Asset
Thurs, Dec. 13, 2018 3-4:00 pm EST
The Problem Parents Webinar has concluded.
If you’re ready to build family partnerships, contact me for a Possibility Call.
