Parents and Therapists in a Professional Partnership

Based on a review of the literature, occupational therapy intervention with parents of handicapped children is presented. Normal conflicts in raising a child, parent responses to the diagnosis of disability, and stage-related parent reactions are examined to help understand the issues of parenting a developmentally or learning disabled child. The development of a collaborative relationship between the occupational therapist and parents is stressed. Selected methods of evaluation and strategies for occupational therapy intervention are described with a focus on the use of activities with parents.