Running head: MODULE 7: FAMILIES DISCUSSION

Module 7: Families Discussion

Jennifer Gamble
University of Kansas

MODULE 7: FAMILIES DISCUSSION

Module 7: Families Discussion

What are the big ideas that these readings convey about collaborating and
communicating with families of students with disabilities?
Throughout the readings in Module 7, it was clear to me that as professionals, we need to

develop an awareness of the particular aspects of our profession and our own individuality that
may impair our development of collaborative relationships with families. Upon developing this
awareness, we must then use this knowledge to try to facilitate communicative and collaborative
efforts so that parents are equal contributors in the education of their child.
A big idea that stood out to me is that there are a variety of communication strategies that
can increase collaboration with parents, but if these are not used with care, they can also decrease
collaboration. These include: wait time, overlapping talk, topic changes and technical talk
(Cheatham & Ostrosky, 2009). Using each of these aspects of conversation and communication
is going to vary from situation to situation, and person to person. For example, some people
need wait time to process ideas, while for others, using too much wait time makes the situation
uncomfortable. Teachers need to adjust depending on the families use of them, the various
personalities of those involved and the culture of the family. Teachers need to understand how
each of these aspects can be used to foster positive relationships with families and read verbal
and non-verbal cues, as well.
Another important aspect of developing positive collaborative relationships with families
is being aware of the needs of parents whose first language is not English. In these situations, it
will be important to think about whether or not the parent wants and needs language
interpretation services (Cheatham & Ro, 2011). Teachers need to be aware that if the family is
English as a second language, they will be using a lot of energy to make sense of what is being

MODULE 7: FAMILIES DISCUSSION

discussed. The family will be working to understand the difficult aspects of English, such as
small word parts, idioms, homophones as well as the pragmatics of English, such as taking turns
when speaking (Cheatham & Ro, 2011). Parents will also be trying to connect what they are
hearing to what they already know (Cheatham & Ro, 2011). Teachers can help them make these
connections if they develop an awareness of the language capabilities and needs of the families
they are working with. Teachers can also pre-teach important words or phrases before the
meeting to facilitate this process for parents (Cheatham & Ro, 2011).
Its important that teachers know about the families culture and develop a sense of their
time orientation as well as their use or beliefs surrounding direct or indirect communication
(Cheatham & Santos, 2011). These things combined with individual and cultural beliefs can
positively or negative effect the development of collaborative relationships. Professionals need
to watch for subtle signs that parents are responding either positively or negatively to the
collaborative process (Cheatham & Santos, 2011). When trying to work through plans or
problems where emotions may run high, professionals need to be aware of whether or not the
people they are working with have internal or external sense of control over events happening
and also their preference for individually controlling a situation or collectively working on it
(Cheatham & Santos, n.d). When teachers develop a sense of where families are on the
continuum of collaboration, they can be sensitive to the families needs and preferences and
foster positive relationships.
Another big idea from the readings is that teachers need to be aware of their own role as
professionals on the team as well as the parents beliefs about their own ability to contribute
(Kalyanpur & Harry, 1999). For this reason, teachers need to have a strong metacognitive sense
of themselves as communicators, the order of the meeting and how our technical knowledge can

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sometimes make parents feel (Kalyanpur & Harry, 1999). One example of this is something we
have recently been addressing at our school IEP meetings. Our agenda usually begins with
teachers sharing how the child is doing in the classroom. Our new special education director has
asked us to move parent concerns before teacher sharing. He wants these concerns to be clear
so that parents needs are addressed during the meeting that follows. Moving the parent
concerns to the beginning of the meeting may be increasing their status as contributors, since the
order of those that speak can show a hierarchy of status (Kalyanpur & Harry, 1999, p. 73).
The big ideas that I felt brought the readings full circle were the solutions offered for
difficulties or problems in the collaborative relationship. These ideas such as the LAFF dont
CRY model fully acknowledge that communication and collaboration are affected by a variety of
factors and they are not easy processes (Turnbull et al., 2014, p. 193). By looking at the
research, being aware of the variety of factors that can comprise collaboration and
communication, we as educators are in a better position to see things clearly and work to build
positive relationships. In addition, the research helps us build a variety of strategies for solving
problems when they do occur and for reading signals that show us when it is time to use these
strategies and models.
I believe that it is most important that everyone remembers that we all have the same
goal the success and safety of the child while helping them to become a lifelong learner.
When we keep this in mind, it becomes clear that collaboration and communication between
professionals and families is a matter of the utmost importance and deserves the time and energy
that goes into it.

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5
References

Cheatham, G. A., & Ostrosky, M. M. (2009, October 26). Listening for details of talk: Early
childhood parent-teacher conference communication facilitators. Young Exceptional
Children, 13(1). http://dx.doi.org/10.1177/109625069347283
Cheatham, G. A., & Ro, Y. E. (2011, May 20). Communication between early educators and
parents who speak english as a second language: A semantic and pragmatic perspective.
Early Childhood Education, 39(), 249-256.
Cheatham, G., & Santos, R. M. (2011, September). Collaborating with families from diverse
cultural and linguistic backgrounds. Young Children, 66(5), 76-82.
Cheatham, G., & Santos, R. M. (n.d). Why wont they just cooperate? Understanding how
cultural values impact how we team with families. Young Exceptional Children, 11(),
109-121.
Kalyanpur, M., & Harry, B. (1999). 3. In Culture in special education: Building reciprocal
family-professional relationships. Baltimore, MD: Brookes Publishing.
Turnbull, A., Turnbull, H. R., Turnbull, E. J., Erwin, E. J., Soodak, L. C., & Shogren, K. A.
(2014). Chapter 8: Families and professionals as partners in communicating and
collaborating. In Families, professionals, and exceptionality: Positive outcomes through
partnerships and trust. New York: Pearson.