A Teacher Co-Teaches as a Parent

When our son Peter was diagnosed with autism at the age of two-and-a-half, I had been teaching elementary school and pre-schoolers for 15 years. Our family was devastated by the news of Peter's disability. Our world eroded on all fronts.

Along with creating a feeling of great insecurity about my basic parenting skills, it also threatened my credibility as a life-long teacher. I felt that my strengths as both a parent and a teacher were ignored and discounted by the very people our family needed to count on to make a difference for Peter. As a family, it was initially a struggle to get professionals to listen to our instincts about Peter's development. As a teacher, I also had to wrestle with a key professional question: "As a strong and effective teacher, why do I feel so helpless when it comes to defending and promoting the needs of my own child?"

Eventually, we had success in getting professionals to recognize that our parental instincts about Peter were credible and grounded in our first-hand information about him. Encouraging us to act upon our personal knowledge of our son made a crucial difference for our entire family. Accessing critical education and inclusive opportunities, we began to build a partnership with professionals that allowed us to further advocate not only for Peter but for other children and their families as well.

Breaking down barriers

Co-teaching experiences can help break down barriers that are all too easily erected between families and professionals. Given the chance, family members have profound insight to share with professionals. Sharing this with professionals is critical to promoting family-centered care so that true collaboration with families can evolve. I have helped teach on a variety of subjects, including the IEP (Individualized Education Plan) experience, the family journey, sibling interactions, delivering news, and the family's role in personnel preparation and inclusion.

Course instruction through books, lectures, and videos alone are an adequate substitute for direct interaction with family members. Co-teaching can help community colleges, universities, and state-level in-service and pre-service training demonstrate what family-centered practice is all about and the opportunities it affords. It has become my great and joyful privilege to be teaching in this new area.

by Sally Sloop. Provided through Exceptional Parent magazine, May 1997.

Also see:

Teaching From the Heart

Partnership Teaching for Partnership Care

Co-instruction Resources

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