ABSTRACT
This chapter examines at how the factors affect the way parents enter the processes of identification and assessment, and therefore how they are equipped or handicapped in their bid for full partnership. They come in all shapes, sizes, attitudes and emotions. The aim is to help professionals understand the way parents enter discussions, their state of mind, their motivations, so that from the first encounter onwards, the partnership is productive and constructive, and not derailed by misconceptions and emotional overlays. There are distinct groupings of parents, who have common behavior patterns when they deal with professionals. Submissive parents do not have confidence in their own status as expert in their own child, unless reminded of their true knowledge and experience. A little like the angry, knowledgeable parent, ill-informed parents are likely to behave in a confrontational manner.
