ABSTRACT
This chapter focuses on families from a systems perspective framework to understand issues related to families of children with disabilities. A family with a child with a disability faces additional challenges and stressors aside from its typical daily demands. Factors, such as the family’s socioeconomic status, the nature of the child’s disability and age of the child, the family’s culture, and how disability is defined and viewed by the family itself and by the society’s macro-culture, interact together to determine how a family adjusts to the demands of the disability within the family. The FAAR model is a useful framework to understand the process of adjustment and adaptation in families of children with disabilities. Families facing adversities, such as a child’s disability, who find growth and strengths are termed resilient families. Professionals and service providers play a crucial role in promoting resilience and enhancing the quality of life of the family through their support and partnership. In a family professional partnership model, families and professionals share power, respect each other, and work together to achieve the best outcome for the child. Key principles of this model are equity, respect, communication, advocacy, and commitment.
