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16 - The role of parents of children with Down syndrome and other disabilities in early intervention

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  05 July 2011

By
Gerald Mahoney  and
Frida Perales
Edited by
Jean-Adolphe Rondal ,
Juan Perera  and
Donna Spiker
Gerald Mahoney
Affiliation:
Case Western Reserve University
Frida Perales
Affiliation:
Case Western Reserve University
Jean-Adolphe Rondal
Affiliation:
Université de Liège, Belgium
Juan Perera
Affiliation:
Universitat de les Illes Balears, Palma de Mallorca
Donna Spiker
Affiliation:
Stanford Research Institute International
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Summary

Contemporary early intervention has been closely tied to the proposition that interventions that directly involve parents are more effective at promoting children's learning and development than those that do not (White et al., 1992). This proposition was part of the rationale for the design of the federally mandated early intervention program in the United States, which required that every family in this program have an Individualized Family Service Plan (IFSP). While one of the purposes of the IFSP was to ensure that parents have the resources and supports they need to care for their children, an equally important purpose was to help parents become active participants in their children's intervention. The committee report for the 1986 amendments to the Education of the Handicapped Act (Public Law 99–457) stated,

The committee received overwhelming testimony affirming the family as the primary learning environment for children less than six years of age and pointing out the critical need for parents and professionals to function in a collaborative manner.

(From House Report No. 99–860, as cited in Gilkerson et al., 1987, p. 20.)

The emphasis on involving parents in children's intervention services stems from ecological theories of child development (Bronfenbrenner, 1992, 1999; Dunst et al., 2000, 2006; Sameroff & Fiese, 2000). These theories postulate that early developmental learning is a continuous process that can be affected by each of the experiences children have in their daily environment.

Type
Chapter
Information
Neurocognitive Rehabilitation of Down Syndrome
Early Years
 , pp. 205 - 223
Publisher: Cambridge University Press
Print publication year: 2011

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