As the oldest statewide program serving autistic people in the United States, North Carolina's Division TEACCH (Treatment and Education of Autistic and related Communication handicapped CHildren) has had a major impact on ser­ vices for these people and their families. As we move into our second decade, we are frequently questioned about all aspects of our procedures, techniques, and program. Of all the questions that are asked, however, the one that comes up most frequently and seems to set our program apart from others concerns the ways in which we work with families. To help answer this question we identified what we have found to be the major components in our parent-professional relationships, and we elaborate on these with the most current research informa­ tion, clinical insights, and community knowledge available through the expertise of our distinguished contributors. Our purpose was to collect the most recent information and to organize the resulting volume along the outlines of the par­ ent-professional relationship found most important in the TEACCH program. Thus, the four main sections of the book include these four major ways profes­ sionals work with parents: as their advocates, their trainers, their trainees, and their reciprocal emotional support source. To the extent this effort was success­ ful, we acknowledge that it is easier to organize book chapters along these dimensions than it is to provide their implementation in the field.

Inhalt

I: Introduction.- 1 Professional Attitudes toward Parents: A Forty-Year Progress Report.- II: Overview.- 2 Handicapped Children and Their Families.- 3 Research Concerning Families of Children with Autism.- 4 Helping Autistic Children through Their Parents: The TEACCH Model.- III: Parents as Advocates.- 5 Developmental Changes in Families with Autistic Children: A Parent's Perspective.- 6 The Role of the National Society in Working with Families.- 7 The Professional's Role as Advocate.- 8 Advocacy: Effectively Changing the System.- IV: Parents as Trainees.- 9 Parents as Behavior Therapists for Their Autistic Children: Clinical and Empirical Considerations.- 10 A Training Program for Families of Children with Autism: Responding to Family Needs.- 11 Training Parent-Child Interactions.- 12 Behavior Therapists Look at the Impact of an Autistic Child on the Family System.- V: Parents as Trainers.- 13 My Great Teachers.- 14 Parents as Trainers of Legislators, Other Parents, and Researchers.- 15 The Parent as Trainer of Professionals: Attitudes and Acceptance.- VI: Emotional Support and Siblings.- 16 Explaining Mental Retardation and Autism to Parents.- 17 Family Resources and Successful Adaptation to Autistic Children.- 18 Coping with Burnout.- 19 Children with Handicapped Brothers and Sisters.- 20 The Sibling's Changing Roles.