Disabled Children, Parents and Professionals: partnership on whose terms?

Taking a parental perspective, this paper explores the experience of partnership between parents of disabled children with learning difficulties and educational professionals. It is argued that until policy, legislation and practice moves from its present perspective of viewing disability as the failure of the individual to that of a perspective embracing equality of value for all, relationships between parents and professionals will be fraught with difficulties. Furthermore, it is argued that until disabled children are centrally and positively placed within the relationship between parents and professionals, the existing prejudice and oppression experienced by disabled children will dominate the relationship. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]