Respect, Reciprocity and Responsiveness: Strengthening Family-Professional Partnerships in Early Intervention

Early interventionists interact and partner with a multitude of families, all with unique strengths, backgrounds, and circumstances. During partnerships with family members, professionals may encounter interactions and relationships that they perceive as challenging or imbalanced. Skilled Dialogue is a framework which emphasizes the use of respectful, reciprocal, and responsive interactions with families from diverse backgrounds (Barrera & Corso, 2002). Early intervention professionals may consider this framework and the supporting strategies to strengthen their partnerships with families.