Counselling in Child Disability: Skills for Working With Parents

This book aims to help professionals working in the disability field to improve their skills in working with parents of children or adults with disabilities. The author focuses on the interpersonal skills, attitudes and knowledge which the professional requires in order to work effectively with the parent. Models for the process of adaptation and the functioning of families which include children with disabilities are considered, along with a discussion of the effects on individual members of such families. The personal accounts of two parents of children with different disabilities provide support for the issues raised by theory and research in the field. A theoretical model for working with parents is presented which suggests guidelines for practice and stresses the interpersonal skills required. These guidelines include the techniques involved: listening, counselling, assertion, enabling and groupwork with parents, in order to help the professional to develop their skills in these areas. This book should be of interest to students and professionals in counselling, disability, special education, clinical psychology, educational psychology, social work, physiotherapy, occupational therapy.