ABSTRACT
Partnership with parents' (a well-rehearsed phrase) has developed something of a hollow ring. 'Parent partnership' has remained a major theme in the Standards Fund, enabling LEAs, in collaboration with voluntary-sector disability groups, to establish Parent-Partnership Officer posts. In many instances, the clarity of information, advice and support on SEN for parents has improved considerably. The most important thing that happens when a child is born with disabilities is that a child is born. The most important thing that happens when a couple become parents of a child with disabilities is that the couple become parents. Professionals in families can work to eliminate the physical, cultural and social barriers that prevent families from attaining the best possible quality of life. Family dynamics may mean services need to build in an unaccustomed flexibility to their approaches to families.
