Excerpts are presented from a counseling session in which parents of a brain damaged nine-year-old struggle with issues of depression, anger, and resentment compounded by lack of communication with each other. They faced conflicts over their son's actual capabilities and the dreams they had had for him. (CL)

This resource section lists Parent to Parent programs, which match "veteran" parents of disabled children with new parents of disabled children. The partial directory, organized alphabetically by state, gives names, addresses, and telephone numbers of programs in states from Kentucky through Oklahoma. (JDD)

A positive attitude is necessary when parenting a child with disabilities. Among principles which help parents cope are: never underestimate the child's potential; find and follow positive mentors; keep in mind the feelings and needs of other family members; remember to consider what's been accomplished; and maintain a sense of humor. (CB)

A parent-to-parent support program was begun to provide early support for parents of handicapped children. New parents are carefully matched with helping parents, who have been trained in communication, resource finding, and referral making. (CL)

The Parent Outreach Program was initiated to link parents who are already raising children with disabilities with new parents of disabled children. (SB)

A counselor describes the strains placed on a marriage after the birth of a handicapped son by both parents' difficulties in dealing with their own parents. The importance of better communication of needs among all parties and ways grandparents can help parents with a handicapped child are discussed. (VW)

Parent to Parent programs are described as support programs that match experienced parents of disabled children with new parents. A partial directory of Parent to Parent programs, in alphabetical order by state, lists names, addresses, and telephone numbers for programs from Alabama to Kansas. (JDD)

The author presents several suggestions for the organization of self-help groups for parents of developmentally disabled children. Guidelines stress that parents are the most important advocates their children will ever have and that parents must often meet to share information among themselves. (SBH)

The counseling session reveals parents who are upset at the school's lack of progress in implementing their child's Individualized Education Program. The counselor notes the parents' different ways of responding to their child's problems and indicates ways in which the parents' sense of competence may be threatened. (CL)

Reported is the case of a learning disabled boy (12 years old) whose divorced parents were unable to agree as to whether he should be placed in a residential school. (IM)

The mother of a 21-year-old mentally retarded boy, who also suffers from frequent petit mal seizures, describes the developmental and behavioral problems which led her to seek institutional placement. (LH)

A case study is presented of a family in which the parents disagreed about the role their young daughters should play in caring for their baby son, who was born with severe physical disabilities. Through counseling, the parents learned to improve their communication, deal with stress, and accept outside help. (JDD)

A child with a serious disability can have an extensive emotional impact on the family. A case study of the parents of a disabled child describes the demands imposed on them by therapeutic programs and the use of counseling to focus on their marriage and their problem-solving styles. (JDD)

A family experiences difficulty dealing with a 20-year-old daughter who establishes a pattern of criticizing her parents' lifestyle, their relationship with each other, and their relationship with their 15-year-old learning-disabled son. (JDD)

In counseling sessions, a family with an adolescent son who has physical and academic problems comes to realize that each parent feels unappreciated for his or her efforts and that the father is overprotecting his son by not permitting him to solve his own problems and make his own decisions. (JDD)