The article describes a Netherlands model for support and assistance to families of handicapped children. "Practical Help at Home" is an outgrowth of the Parents' Initiative Movement and relies on volunteers to provide a range of services including respite and training. (CL)

This paper examines issues of special needs advocacy in an international context and describes BRUSH (Brussels Support for the Handicapped), an advocacy organization in Brussels, Belgium. The possibility that advocacy is a culturally determined concept is raised. BRUSH is a group of families from the international community of Brussels who provide…

Describes the partnership between the early childhood program at the University of Vermont and Parent to Parent of Vermont. The partnership was designed to set a context for preparation of family-centered practitioners by modeling the qualities of a collaborative relationship between families and professionals and by developing a family-centered…

This theme issue offers a collection of articles focusing on support groups for parents of infants and toddlers, including the following: (1) "Gaining Perspective on Parenting Groups" (Nick Carter and Cathie Harvey) which reviews the purposes, history, and essential ingredients of such groups; (2) "The MELD Experience with Parent Groups" (Joyce…

This study examined barriers to utilizing services for children, birth to age 3, through in-depth individual and group interviews with 70 parents and direct service personnel of provider agencies in seven Washington counties. Part 1 of this report offers examples and discussion of the difficulties parents have accessing services and how localities…