Effective Educational Approaches to Forging Family-Professional Partnerships

Abstract

Respectful and trusting family-professional partnerships can positively influence the health care of children with intellectual and developmental disability. This article describes a creative interdisciplinary educational approach that includes family members and preservice professionals as partners, and evaluates the perceived impact of this approach on the learners. The majority of survey respondents rated the impact of including family members in a 9-month interdisciplinary training program as co-learners, educators, and mentors as having a very high impact. Including family members in interdisciplinary educational activities, provides preservice learners invaluable opportunity to experience true family-professional partnerships. Recommendations are provided for education of preservice learners through a partnering process that fully includes family, self-advocacy, and professional disciplines, and targets family-centered inclusive services as an outcome.