Mental Handicap: Dilemmas Of Parent-professional Relations (croom Helm Series On Special Education Needs)

The author examines the problems facing parents of mentally-handicapped children and the responses of doctors, psychologists and teachers who work with them. First Published in 2004. In academic, popular and official literature a great deal has been written about parent-professional relationships. They are often represented as being fundamentally important and valuable for all the parties involved. The author of this book is concerned with the unequal power relations between parents and professionals and that professionals'assumptions and practices should be viewed as questionable from a parental perspective. This study concerns the parents of mentally-handicappedchildren, and to a lesser extent the various professionals, including academics, who impinge on their lives. Book Cover......Page 1 Title......Page 4 Contents......Page 5 An Introduction......Page 14 The Process of Research......Page 19 Practical Difficulties......Page 39 Problems with the Services......Page 84 Obtaining Information......Page 140 An Open Letter to Parents of Mentally-handicapped Children......Page 184 An Open Letter to Professionals......Page 207 Appendices 1 5......Page 232 Bibliography......Page 239 Index......Page 242