Families, Professionals, and Exceptionality: Positive Outcomes Through Partnerships and Trust, 7th edition

• Practical, research-based strategies based on the lives of true families with children with disabilities are ready for teachers to apply in the classroom.
• A close look at the family systems theory explains the complexity of the lives of families affected by disability and simplifies our understanding of those families.
• An examination of the history of family-professional relationships provides a context for the discussion of today’s relationships—what they are and whey they should and can be.
• A description of the two federal laws that govern special education services emphasizes the special education law, Individuals with Disabilities Education Act (IDEA).
• A look at the seven principles that constitute the construct called partnership provides an emphasis on one of the principles, communication, plus illustrations of how educators should apply the principles. Students see both theory and practice in light of the family systems theory and consistent with the most recent stage of history and the law.
• Backed by the most recent research and evidence-based practices for creating partnerships between educators and the families they serve who have children with disabilities, the book keeps readers up to date on the latest information in the field.

The new edition retains the important aspects of the Fifth Edition in that it describes the family systems theory, the history and current status of policy, and the principles of partnership and their application by teachers and other professionals, plus cites of the most recent research, it also includes these new features.

• NEW! Six families are featured, rather than four. The families are fresh faces, different than the families in the Fifth Edition.
• NEW! A Marine Corps family is highlighted, recognizing the extraordinary times in which we live and the role of the armed forces in our times.
• NEW! An increased emphasis on the older individual with a disability and the role families continue to play in their lives features three students who have graduated from secondary school, two who have just entered college.
• NEW! A family’s entire life span is portrayed, covering preschool and kindergarten, elementary school, middle school, secondary school, postsecondary school, and adult.
• NEW! An emphasis on cultural diversity includes coverage of an African American family, a Hispanic American family, and four white families, one of which is a single parent family.
• NEW! More disabilities are portrayed than in previous editions, including coverage of students with physical, intellectual, and other developmental disabilities, and multiple disabilities.