Ideas and challenges when working with families

“Parents are their child’s first teacher.”

How many times have you heard this platitude, usually at workshops about how to involve parents in their children’s education? The challenge for educators of children from immi- grant families is to figure out how to engage parents from ethnic and lin- guistic backgrounds different from their own (see box, “Overview of Current U.S. Immigration”). What if the parents speak Urdu or Hmong, Somali or Chinese, and the only for - eign-language teacher or resource person at the school is the Spanish teacher? This article provides many practical suggestions, tactics, and resources for questing educators who are sincere in their desire to involve all parents.

Parental involvement in the edu- cation of children with disabilities in the United States is a legal right mandated with the passage of the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act (Public Law 94-142, 1975), further strengthened in P.L. 101-476 (1990), and in the most recent reauthorization of P.L. 105-17 (1997). Unfortunately, despite the 25 years of such mandates, U.S. special education programs still lack active involvement and participation from parents of diverse cultural and lin- guistic backgrounds (Thorp, 1997).

Barriers to Participation by Immigrant Parents of Students with Disabilities Several potential barriers limit par- ents’ participation in their children’s education in the school setting. Knowledge and understanding of these barriers is the first step toward bridging them. (See “Resources” boxes for helpful instructional tools and other useful resources.)

Language

Limited English-language proficien- cy is a major factor that affects par- ent participation in the school sys- tem (Holman, 1997; Sileo, Prater, & Sileo, 1996; Turnbull & Turnbull,

2001). Parents with limited English proficiency may not feel confident communicating with school person- nel and, in fact, might feel intimidat- ed by highly educated school person- nel (Holman, 1997). New or unskilled English-language speakers should be encouraged to use their native language (with appropriate supports) to gain and give informa- tion about their child’s education.

Further, these parents might not understand the special educational needs and the nature of their child’s disability (Thomas, Correa, & Morsink , 2000). For example, they may not be able to read the reports that teachers are sending home—in some cases, even when the report is in their native language. Some par- ents may be illiterate in their native language.

On the other hand, some parents may have strong English sk ills and want to communicate in English. These parents will be able to gain a full understanding of their child’s educational process through tradi- tional home-school communication. Tactics • First, try to assess and understand

the language needs of each immi- grant family. Your first task is to ask parents if they are comfortably

52 ■ COUNCIL FOR EXCEPTIONAL CHILDREN

Involving Immigrant Parents of Students with Disabilities in the Educational Process

Suha Al-Hassan

Ralph Gardner III

The challenge for educators of

children from immigrant families

is to figure out how to engage

parents from ethnic and linguistic

backgrounds different from their

own.

TEACHING EXCEPTIONAL CHILDREN ■ MAY/J UNE 2002 ■ 53

U.S. Census Information. The population of U.S. schools is becoming increasingly diverse. According to the popula- tion survey conducted by the U.S. Census Bureau in 2000 (Camarota, 2001); there are 28.4 million immigrants liv- ing in the United States, they account for about 1 in 10 res- idents (10.4%), the highest percentage in 70 years. The census also revealed that school-age immigrant children in the United States number 8.6 million; and researchers have projected that this number will be even larger in the coming years, because 17.6% of the children approaching school age have immigrant mothers (Camarota, 2001).

New Immigrants. Families immigrate to the United States for many different reasons: political conflicts, economic opportunities, education, to reunite with family, and a combination of these and other concerns. Whatever their reasons, the immigrants seek a better life and opportuni- ties for their families, including access to a system of free public education for their children (Holman, 1997). Immigrant families come with educational expectations for their children, but a lack of familiarity with the U.S. education structure. The U.S. schools are required to meet the needs of the diverse students and inform parents of their rights and responsibilities. In 1974 the Supreme Court’s decision in the Lau v. Nicholas case (Ohio Department of Education, 2001) stated that equal access to education involves having instruction in a language that the student can communicate in and understand. This decision has resulted in an increased availability of translated materials and translators to meet the educa- tional needs of children with limited English proficiency. Effectively teaching immigrant children demands addi- tional resources from a school system that is already struggling to meet the educational needs of its domestic students.

Socioeconomic Profile of Immigrants. The survey conduct- ed by the Census Bureau shows that 53% of immigrant

children live in or near poverty, compared to 35% of chil- dren of natives (Camarota, 2001). Some immigrant stu- dents might be suffering from the harmful effects of living in refugee camps. These immigrant students may not have had formal education opportunities in their native countries. Immigrant parents may work in jobs that do not provide family health insurance. Poverty, emotional and physical trauma, or poor medical care that some immigrant children experience may create circumstances that increase the likelihood of the children having special educational needs. A consequence may be that many immigrant students are at increased risk for school diffi- culties. In particular, special educators are challenged to not only address cultural and linguistics differences but also meet the needs of children with disabilities (Artiles, Trent, Hoffman-Kipp, & Lopez-Torres, 2000). Educators are faced with immigrant students who struggle with lan- guage (Roseberry-McKibbin, 1995). Teachers need par- ents’ assistance in distinguishing language differences from language disabilities.

Barriers to Instruction. Teachers of immigrant children have to overcome barriers to instruction, such as lan- guage and cultural differences, parental lack of informa- tion about U.S. schools, and differences with previous educational system or the lack of previous formal school- ing. Despite these barriers, teachers are work ing hard to meet the individual needs of students in their classrooms. Teachers alone cannot achieve the goal of an appropriate education for all children; parents and families must be fully and meaningfully engaged in this process. In addi- tion, educators must take into consideration that the fam- ily is the most important element in a child’s life (Heward, 2000). Parents are their child’s first teacher and often are the first to recognize the special needs of their children. Yet, involving parents and families becomes a difficult issue in improving the academic and social devel-

Overview of Current U.S. Immigration

in receiving communication in English. You can informally assess whether English is an appropriate language for communication with a family by talking with family members and evaluating if the parents or other significant adults in the family can effectively receive and give clear information. Be careful to emphasize with par- ents that at any point, if the par- ents’ language skills change (e.g., parents become more proficient in English or you realize that there are frequent miscommunication in English), then you can change the language of communication.

• Include translators in meetings with parents. Translators must have the family’s confidence and be held to a high ethical code, including confidentiality. School districts usually maintain bilin- gual translators in languages that have a significant population in their area. Most states or districts have community-based translators who are available to schools. For example, in central Ohio, the Community Refugee and Immigration Services (CRIS) is a community-based program devel- oped in collaboration with the Ohio Department of Education that provides translators to school dis- tricts. CRIS has a pool of transla- tors for 22 languages. The transla- tors usually have other jobs but assist schools on request. Schools use services like CRIS for lan- guages less frequently found in the school districts. The Ohio Department of Education also partnered with the Ohio Dominican College to set up sum- mer training for bilingual transla- tors to increase the pool of avail- able translators (D. Fleak , person- al communication, September 1, 2001). Individuals who successful-

ly completed the program were listed by language as persons available to schools as translators. Schools typically pay a nominal fee to the interpreters.

• Give the parents the opportunity to choose a translator with whom they feel comfortable and may have worked with in the past (Turnbull & Turnbull, 2001).

• Ask other parents who speak the same language to assist in the communication with the family.

• Provide classes to teach parents English as a second language, if possible, or direct the interested parents to certain programs, such as Center for Applied Linguistics, which offers online language and academic programs for recent i m m i g r a n t s (www.cal.org/crede/newcomers).

• Large urban school districts or a coalition of smaller school dis- tricts may develop transition or welcome educational centers that provide assistance to immigrant children and families in adjusting to U.S. schools. The centers allow educators to assess the skills of the students and the development of student sk ills needed for school success. For example, the Columbus, Ohio, Public Schools has developed a Welcome Center that provides services to immi- grant children and their families. Such centers enable schools to use resources more efficiently.

Lack of Information

Parents of children with disabilities often report that their greatest need is information (Thorp, 1997). Parents need frequent and precise information about their child’s progress; it is not enough to receive progress reports a few times per year. Moreover, as stated by Thorp, “The information received by the parents may or may not be in their home language, and it may or may not be provided in a way that is understandable” (p. 267). Tactics • Provide information, both written

and oral, in ways that enable the

parents to understand. The Regional Resource and Federal Centers (RRFC) Network is com- posed of the Federal Resource Center and the six regional resource centers for special educa- t i o n (http://www.dssc.org/frc/index. htm). Immigrants from a particu- lar culture/country often settled in the same region of the United States. For example, Minnesota has a large Hmong community; central Ohio, a significant Somali population; south Florida, a large population of Cubans. Schools in these areas may have parental information and teaching aids already translated into the native languages of particular groups res- ident in their community. By con- tacting the appropriate federal regional office, you may obtain the needed translated materials. General information about work- ing with immigrant children and their families is also available from the regional centers. For example, the Northwest Regional Educational Laboratory provides online self-report check lists ( w w w . n w r e l . o r g / c n o r s e / b o o k - lets/immigrantion/5.html) for teachers and administrators to assess the school environment’s friendliness toward immigrants.

• Make school reports simple. Use icons (e.g., happy or sad faces) to convey information. If you are sending written reports, have it translated into the family’s native language. Translators can help with the development of school forms in the parents’ native lan- guage.

• Use positive, direct, and simple language. Avoid using medical or psychological terms or language.

54 ■ COUNCIL FOR EXCEPTIONAL CHILDREN

Provide information, written and

oral, in ways that enable the

parents to understand.

Assess and understand the

language needs of each

immigrant family.

Provide examples of student behavior, preferably on graphs or charts that are more easily under- stood.

• Use translators if you need to com- municate orally with the parents.

• Deliver positive massages through nonverbal communication; some- times it is the only direct commu- nication between you and the par- ent.

• Do not assume that you have com- municated effectively; verify it by having the parents communicate to you what they heard.

• Develop a survival vocabulary list in the native language(s) of your families for use with parents and school personnel (Thomas et al., 2000). Include basic special educa- tion terminology, greetings, action words, and calendar words in the list. The National Clearinghouse for Bilingual Education (NCBE, 2001) (http:// www.ncbe.gwu.edu/classroom/fu n.htm) provides much of this information. After choosing the list of vocabulary you feel is important to facilitate the commu- nication between you and the fam- ilies, you may find on-line resources to translate the list to other languages (e.g., www.world.altavista. com). This Web site allows you to translate any text, or even Web sites, to eight different languages.

Teacher’s Unfamiliarity with Immigrant Parents’ Culture

As the school population has become increasingly diverse, the teacher population in the school environ- ment has remained unchanged with the vast majority of teachers coming from middle class Euro-American backgrounds. This creates unequal representation of students with a dis- proportionate number of teachers coming from the majority culture and the majority of students from diverse cultural backgrounds (Sileo, et al., 1996; Thorp, 1997). Unless teachers actively seek opportunities to learn about other cultures, they will be unfamiliar with the immi-

grant family’s cultural traditions and practices. Tactics • Read about other cultures. For

example, The Culturalgram: The Nations Around Us (Brigham Young University, 1996) provides a synopsis of countries and cultures from around the world.

• Ask bilingual parents, especially those who have children with dis- abilities, about their experiences with the education system in their native country.

• Understand the different needs of the families and appreciate their culture and language (Fradd & Tikunoff, 1987).

• Welcome the parents to your class- room and encourage them to share their culture and experiences with your whole class.

• Be sensitive to matters pertaining to nonverbal communication (e.g., eye contact, facial expression, ges- tures, proximity, touching, cloth- ing) among diverse cultural groups (Thomas et al., 2000). In some cultures looking directly and making eye contact could mean respect, but in other cultures it could be interpreted as disrespect- ful.

• Be careful with physical proximity and touching. Cultural norms vary widely on the type and frequency of touching that occurs during friendly professional interactions.

Negative Educational Experiences

Parents’ negative experiences may affect their participation in the edu- cational process of their children. Some parents may have had prior negative experiences with educators. For example, parents who never have been invited to their child’s classroom, or the parents who don’t speak English yet have been told that they should only speak English to their child with a disability (Thorp, 1997). These messages may have created negative attitudes toward school personnel. The teacher must gain the trust of the families and engage them in the edu- cation process of their child.

Tactics • Send welcome notes to the new-

arrival families in their language and invite them to visit the school.

• Communicate personally with the family, through e-mail, a phone call, or quick “home note” (Thomas et al., 2000) regarding the progress of their child, notify- ing parents about upcoming activ- ities, and any other concerns.

• Include special cultural and reli- gious holidays on the school calen- dar. Ask parents to help plan cul- tural events and celebrations at the classroom. Use the interna- tional calendar on the NCBE Web site (http://www.k idlink. o r g / K I D P R O J / M C C / c a l e n d a r - index.html).

• Make home visits by appointment with the family member. Dress appropriately and comfortably. Respond with sensitivity to offers of food and beverages (Turnbull & Turnbull, 2001).

• Home visits provide an opportuni- ty to instruct parents in special- ized strategies designed to meet their child’s educational needs. Make sure your suggestions coin- cide with the parents’ behavioral goals for their child.

Unfamiliarity with the U.S. Educational Practices

Learning about and gaining access to community services can be challeng- ing to parents, especially immigrant parents (Bailey, Sk inner, Rodriguez, Gut, & Correa, 1999). Immigrant par- ents may not understand their legal rights and the rights of their chil- dren, and they may not be familiar with the educational practices in the United States. Many developing countries do not have mandates and laws for educating children with dis-

TEACHING EXCEPTIONAL CHILDREN ■ MAY/J UNE 2002 ■ 55

Send welcome notes to new

immigrant families in their

language and invite them to visit

the school.

abilities. Parents may or may not have had formal schooling opportu- nities themselves. The result is that some may not be aware of their right to ask for special education services for their children.

Zetlin, Padron, and Wilson (1996) studied culturally diverse parents of children with developmental disabil- ities regarding their attitudes and experiences with the special educa- tion system. The researchers found that all the families indicated high

degrees of commitment and involve- ment, but responses varied in terms of their understanding of the individ- ualized education program (IEP) process, awareness of rights and options, and willingness to challenge school district’s decisions concern- ing their child. Tactics • Fully inform immigrant parents

about their rights and their role in their child’s education. Educators can find parental information in

various languages through the Federal Regional Resource Center.

• Provide information about the identification, referral, and inter- vention process; legal, ethical, financial matters; and other resources (e.g., transportation and child-care services) (Sileo, Prater, & Sileo, 1996). Provide written handouts in the family’s language. See the Web site of PACER center, the Parent Advocacy Coalition of Educational Rights, which serves

56 ■ COUNCIL FOR EXCEPTIONAL CHILDREN

Beach Center on Families and Disability (http://www.beachcenter.org/). Conducts research and training to enhance families’ empowerment and dissemi- nates information to families, people with disabilities, educators, and the general public. Provides technical assistance to national network of parent-to-parent sup- port programs.

The Center for Applied Linguistics offers on-line lan- guage and academic programs for recent immigrants (www.cal.org/crede/newcomer.htm).

Clearinghouse for Immigrants Education (CHIME) (http://www.igc.apc.org/ncas/sr_essi.htm): Selected readings. This is an interactive database and network ing services that facilitates public access to literature, research, Internet resources, and reform strategies to promote the effective education of immigrant students.

Family Network on Disabilities of Florida, Inc. (http://fndfl.org). A statewide alliance of people with disabilities, special needs, or at-risk children and their families. Its mission is to provide family-driven support, education, information, and advocacy.

National Clearinghouse for Bilingual Education (NCBE) (http://www.ncbe.gwu.edu/index.htm). Funded by the U.S. Department of Education’s Office of Bilingual Education and Minority Languages Affairs to collect, analyze, and disseminate information relating to the effective education of linguistically and culturally diverse learners in the United States. Through this Web page you will have access to a variety of internet resources relating to aspects of language, culture, and education. Through language and education link s, you can also learn words, phrases, and holidays from around the world.

National Council on Disability (http://www.ncd.gov/). Its purpose is to promote policies, programs, practices, and procedures that guarantee equal opportunity for all individuals with disabilities and those from diverse cul- tural backgrounds. Parents and teachers can have access

to the disabilities Act and other civil rights laws. NCD brochures offered online in several languages.

Northwest Regional Resource Center provides on-line self-report check lists (www.nwrel.org/) for teachers and administrators to assess the school environment’s friend- liness toward immigrants.

Office of Bilingual Education and Minority Languages Affairs (http://www.edu.gov/offices/OBEMLA). OBEMLA’s mission is to include various elements of school reform in programs designed to assist the lan- guage minority agenda. These include an emphasis on high academic standards, an improvement of school accountability, an emphasis on professional develop- ment, the promotion of family literacy, the encourage- ment of early reading, and the establishment of partner- ships between parents and the community.

The Parent Advocacy Coalition of Educational Rights (PACER) serves families of children and adults with dis- abilities (http://www.pacer.org).

The Regional Resource and Federal Centers (RRFC) Network (http://www.dssc.org/frc/rrfc.htm). These cen- ters are specially funded to assist state education agen- cies in the systemic improvement of education programs, practices, and policies that affect children and youth with disabilities. The RRCs help states and U.S. jurisdic- tions find integrated solutions for systemic reform, offer- ing consultation, information services, technical assis- tance, training, and product development.

The Technical Assistance Alliance for Parent Centers (the Alliance) (http://www.taalliance.org), funded by the U.S. Department of Education, Office of Special Education Programs. Focuses on providing technical assistance for establishing, developing, and coordinating parent training and information projects under the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act. The Alliance is prepared to offer a variety of resources that will launch parent training and information centers into the 21st century.

Helpful Resources on the World Wide Web

families of children and adults with disabilities (http://www.pacer.org). The center was created by parents of children and youth with disabilities to help other parents facing similar challenges. PACER can also identify the resources and services available to assist teachers in work ing with parents. For example, this Web site can provide information about trans- lated materials in Hmong and Spanish. • Develop audiotapes and video-

tapes in the parents’ language explaining their rights and respon- sibilities under the law.

• Develop school manuals on school policies and procedures, curricu- lum, and transition. Manuals for parents are available from many parent organizations, such as PACER centers (www.pacer.org/; Thomas et al., 2000).

Differing Views Regarding Involvement in Schools

Families from diverse cultural and linguistic communities may have historically different relationships with schools and attitudes about family involvement in schools (Thorp, 1997). In some cultures, par- ents may see involvement as inter- fering with the school—that they are merely consumers of services. Moreover, they may typically have been passive participants in the edu- cational process in their native coun- try. Educators must work to inform parents of the participatory role that

parents are encouraged to play in the U.S. school system. Tactics • Assess and evaluate the family’s

beliefs and needs as they relate to their children’s education.

• Educate parents through school meetings and home visits about the importance of family involve- ment and participation and the effect of their involvement on their child’s education.

• Set up the school’s phone system with a voicemail answering the most common questions immi- grant parents in general have about their children’s education. You could obtain technical assis- tance to develop a phone system to provide information in multiple languages.

• School districts can set up Web pages in multiple languages that immigrant parents can access.

• Assist families in mak ing contact with other immigrant parents (from their native country) whose children have been successful in school.

TEACHING EXCEPTIONAL CHILDREN ■ MAY/J UNE 2002 ■ 57

Baca, L., & Evarts, H. (1998). The bilin- gual special education interface (3rd ed.). Upper Saddle River, NJ : Merrill/Prentice Hall.*

Bilingual Dictionaries, Inc., 5107 Via Miudanao, P.O. Box 529, San Luis Rey, CA 92068 (http://www.bi-dic- tionaries. com).

Brigham Young University, David Kennel Center for International Studies. (1996). Culturalgrams: The nations around us (Vols. I & II). Chicago: Ferguson Publishing (address: Chicago, IL 800-306-9941).

Brown, H. (1991). Breaking the language barrier. Yarmouth, ME: Intercultural Press.

Cloud, N. (1988) ESL in special educa- tion. ERIC Clearinghouse on lan- guage and linguistics, ERIC Digest, Office of Educational Research and Improvement (ED), Washington, DC. (ERIC Document Reproduction Service No. ED 303 044)

Fradd, S., & Tikunoff, W. (1987). Bilingual education and bilingual special education: A guide for admin- istrators. Boston: College-Hall Press.

Ortiz, A., & Ramirez, B. (Eds.). (1988). Schools and the culturally diverse exceptional student: Promising prac- tices and future directions. Paper pre- sented at the ethnic multicultural symposium (Dallas, TX, 1986). For individual papers, see EC 210 634- 647, Office of Educational Research and Improvement (ED), Washington, DC. (ERIC Document Reproduction Service No. ED 298 699).

Winze, M. A., & Mazurka, K. (1998). Special education in multicultural contexts. Upper Saddle River, NJ: Merrill/Prentice Hall.*

Other Helpful Resources

Fully inform immigrant parents

about their rights and their role

in their child’s education.

A Teacher’s Thoughts on Working with Immigrant Families Julie is a teacher in a middle school where there are many students who have recently moved to the United States from a variety of countries. On the first school open house, about a third of the parents attended. Some brought family members or friends who could help interpret. The school has Somali assistants and one teacher fluent in Spanish to help with communication. Julie found the parents to be keenly interested in their child’s education. She found that the language barrier is not diffi - cult to overcome when both parent and teacher have a genuine desire to help the child. She also noticed that the children of parents who have attended the open houses and par- ent-teacher conferences, and who have attempted to respond to written and phone messages, have generally made the most progress in acquiring language skills. Julie works to make parents feel comfortable and respect- ed. She communicates to them how much courage it must have taken for them to leave everything that was familiar and start a new life in a dif- ferent country.

Julie says that teachers in her school are happy and impressed with the fact that the parents value educa- tion and are willing to team with teachers to help and encourage the children. Teachers find it an interest- ing and rewarding experience to work with students and parents from other countries and other cultures. Further, Julie emphasized that teach- ers should discuss parent expecta- tions regarding academics and behav- ior. She encourages parents to set high but obtainable educational goals for their children.

Final Thoughts Bridging the gap between home and school is the responsibility of both educators and parents. Professionals should take the first step toward encouraging immigrant parents to become more actively involved in the educational process.

Understanding the needs and the cul- ture of immigrant parents helps in building a positive relationship between school and home. The out- comes include improved student achievement, increased teacher familiarity with other cultures, and a better understanding by parents of their rights and responsibilities. The future success of our society is just as closely tied to the education of today’s immigrant children as our past suc- cess was to the education of the pre- vious generations of immigrants.

References Artiles, A. J., Trent, S. C., Hoffman-Kipp,

P., & Lopez-Torres, L. (2000). From individual acquisition to cultural-his- torical practices in multicultural teacher education. R e medial and Special Education, 21(2), 79-89.

Bailey, D., Skinner, D., Rodriguez, P., Gut, D., & Correa, V. (1999). Awareness, use, and satisfaction with services for Latino parents of young children with disabili- ties. Exceptional Children, 65, 367-381.

Brigham Young University, David Kennel Center for International Studies. (1996). Culturalgrams: The nations around us (Vols. I & II). Chicago: Ferguson Publishing.

Camarota, S. A. (2001, January). Immi- gration in the United States-2000: A snapshot of American’s foreign-born population. Center for Immigration Studies. Retrieved February 27, 2002, from www.cis.org).

Fradd, S., & Tikunoff, N. (1987). Bilingual education and bilingual special educa- tion: A guide for administrators. Boston: College-Hill Press.

Heward, L. W., (2000). Exceptional chil- dren: An introduction to special educa- tion (6th ed.). Upper Saddle River, NJ: Prentice Hall/Merrill.*

Holman, L. J. (1997). Meeting the needs of Hispanic immigrants. Educational Leadership, 54(7), 37-38.

National Clearinghouse for Bilingual Education. (NCBE). (2001). In the classroom: Fun with languages. Retrieved March 19, 2002, from http://www. ncbe.gwu.edu/index.htm.

Ohio Department of Education. (2001). In the classroom: Practical resources for linguistically and culturally diverse classrooms. Lau Center. Retrieved February 27, 2002, from http://www.ode.state. oh.us.

Roseberry-McKibbon, C. (1995, Summer). Distinguishing language of differences from language disorders in linguisti- cally and culturally diverse students. Multicultural Education, 2(4), 12-16.

Sileo, T. W., Prater, M. A. (1998). Preparing professionals for partner- ships with parents of students with disabilities. Exceptional Children, 64, 513-528.

Sileo, T. W., Prater, M. A., & Sileo, A. P. (1996). Parent and professional partner- ships in special education: Multicultural considerations. Intervention in School and Clinic, 31, 145-153.

Thomas, C. C., Correa, V. I., & Morsink , C. V. (2000). Interactive teaming (3rd ed.). Upper Saddle River, NJ: Prentice Hall/Merrill.*

Thorp, E. K. (1997). Increasing opportu- nities for partnership with culturally and linguistically diverse families. Intervention in School and Clinic, 32, 261-169.

Turnbull, A. P., & Turnbull, H. R. (2001). Families, professionals, and exception- ality (4th ed.). Upper Saddle River, NJ: Prentice Hall/Merrill.*

Zetlin, A. G., Pardon, M., & Wilson, S. (1996). The experience of five Latin America families with the special educa- tion system. Education and Training in Mental Retardation and Developmental Disabilities, 31(1), 22-28.

*To order the book marked by an asterisk (*), please call 24 hrs/365 days: 1-800- BOOKS-NOW (266-5766) or (732) 728- 1040; or visit them on the Web at http://www.clicksmart .com/teaching/. Use VISA, M/C, AMEX, or Discover or send check or money order + $4.95 S&H ($2.50 each add’l item) to: Clicksmart, 400 Morris Avenue, Long Branch, NJ 07740; (732) 728- 1040 or FAX (732) 728-7080.

Suha Al-Hassan (CEC Chapter #208); Doctoral Student, and Ralph Gardner III, Associate Professor, College of Education, Ohio State University, Columbus.

Address correspondence to Suha Al- Hassan, 356 Arps Hall, 1945 North High Street, Special Education Program, School of Physical Activity and Educational Services, The Ohio State University, Columbus, OH 43210 (e-mail: al-has- [email protected]).

Preparation of this article was supported by a Leadership Training Grant (#H325D980018) to The Ohio State University from the Office of Special Education and Rehabilitative Services, U.S. Department of Education. We thank William Heward for his support and assis- tance. We are also grateful to Vivian Correa for her help.

TEACHING Exceptional Children, Vol. 34, No. 5, pp. 52-58.

Copyright 2002 CEC.

58 ■ COUNCIL FOR EXCEPTIONAL CHILDREN