Parent/Professional Collaboration:
The Current Reality and Challenges for the Future - continued

Appendix B

For Parents: A Checklist for Effective Parent-Professional Collaboration

Do I believe that I am an equal partner with professionals, accepting my share of the responsibility for solving problems and making plans on behalf of my child?

Am I able to see the professional as a person who is working with me for the well-being of my child?

Do I see as my goal for interactions with professionals the mutual understanding of a problem so that we can take action as a team to alleviate the problem?

Do I clearly express my own needs and the needs of my fame to professionals in an assertive manner?

Do I state my desire to be an active participant in the decision-making process concerning services for my child and do I seek mutual agreement on the means to insure my involvement?

Do I take an active, assertive role in planning and implementing the Individual Education Program for my child?

Do I come to appointments having thought through the information I want to give and the questions I want answered?

Do I accept the fact that a professional often has responsibility for service coordination and communication with many families, including my own?

Do I treat each professional as an individual and avoid letting past negative experiences or negative attitudes get in the way of establishing a good working relationship?

Do I communicate quickly with professionals who are serving the needs of my child when there are significant changes or when notable situations occur?

Do I communicate with other parents, thereby reducing my isolation and theirs, and sharing my expertise?

Do I encourage the professionals involved with my child to communicate with each other and to keep me informed as well?

When I have a positive relationship with a professional or an agency, do I express support for the professional or agency in the community?

When I make a commitment to a professional for a plan of action, do I follow through and complete that commitment?

Do I maintain realistic expectations of professionals, myself and my child, knowing that complete and definitive answers are unlikely when complex emotional and physical conditions of children are concerned?

Portland State University, Research and Training Center of Family Support and Children's Mental Health, Portland, Oregon. Consultation for the preparation of this checklist was provided by Dr. Richard Angell, Director of Training, Division of the Child Psychiatry, Oregon Health Services University, and residents in the child psychiatry program. Dr. Angell is a member of the national advocacy committee to the Research and Training Center on Family Support and Children's Mental Health, Portland State University.

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