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AbstractPurposeMethodResultConclusionSpeech-language pathologists (SLPs) are often the first point of contact for families of children with autism. Despite this, little is known about SLPs’ understanding of autism and its early indicators. This study sought to investigate what Australian SLPs know about autism, the early indicators, and the actions they take when they identify these characteristics.A 34 question cross-sectional online survey was distributed through professional networks, social media channels, and industry contacts to Australian SLPs. Quantitative and qualitative data were analysed.The 70 participants worked in various contexts around the country. The majority of participants demonstrated sound knowledge of the main characteristics of autism, and some early indicators. Quantitative analysis identified a significant correlation between participant age and confidence talking to parents about possible autism. Overarching themes were identified: (a) caution may delay or prevent SLPs from taking action, (b) some factors may influence SLPs’ action, and (c) SLPs take action.Australian SLPs working with children have the knowledge and understanding of the main characteristics of autism and some early indicators. However, they demonstrate a cautious approach around the subject of autism, and this caution may cause delays for children requiring diagnostic services. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The purpose of this article is to respond to the perspectives of Agran and colleagues concerning barriers to general education placement for students with significant support needs from an "on the ground" lens of participation in mediations and due process hearings, as well as conversations with parental inclusion advocates throughout the country. We focus on rights, wrongs, and remedies regarding three key issues: (a) strengthening professional development, (b) conducting and disseminating research on inclusive practices, and (c) reforming policy for stronger implementation and accountability. [For "Why Aren't Students with Severe Disabilities Being Placed in General Education Classrooms: Examining the Relations among Classroom Placement, Learner Outcomes, and Other Factors," by Agran et al., see EJ1246688.]

Family-professional partnerships are a key support for families of children with disabilities, but little is known about families of children with deaf-blindness. This study examined (a) the factor structures of the Beach Center on Disability Family-Professional Partnership and Family Quality of Life (FQOL) Scales utilizing a national sample of families of children and youth with deaf-blindness (age birth to 22 years), and (b) the relationship between family-professional partnership and FQOL at the subdomain levels. Results suggested a two-factor solution for family-professional partnership (Enhancing Connection and Enhancing Capacity) and a three-factor solution for FQOL (Family Interaction/Parenting Well-being, Social/Emotional Well-being, Physical/Material Well-being). Enhancing Capacity Partnership moderated the relationship between Enhancing Connection Partnership and Family Interaction/Parenting Well-being FQOL. The significance of these findings in light of the existing family-professional partnership literature is discussed, and implications for research and practice are offered.

School-community partnerships play an essential role in successful schools, often providing supports and resources to meet staff, family, and student needs that go beyond what is typically available through school. Reciprocally, community partners benefit from their relationships with schools, including learning about schools' inclusive culture. To better understand strong community partnerships and what fosters their development, we conducted focus groups with community partners of five schools. The first main finding presented in this article is that these schools have a variety of partners and partnerships, but all partnerships are reciprocal in that they are mutually beneficial. The second set of findings presented include the school factors that were facilitators of successful school-community partnerships: strong school leadership, an inviting school culture, educator commitment to student success, and the ability to collaborate and communicate with community partners. The community partners in many of these schools emphasized how the culture of including all students and providing all students with an excellent education profoundly influenced how they perceived disability and how they used their new knowledge in other settings. Implications for practice and future research are discussed.

Family–professional partnerships are essential for promoting positive outcomes for students with and without disabilities. However, the extent to which professional preparation standards address skills to cultivate family–professional partnerships is unclear. Without this knowledge, it is challenging to understand the preparation of education professionals in developing partnerships with families. The purpose of this study is to explore the relation between preparation standards and two factors of family–professional partnerships (i.e., enhancing connection and enhancing capacity) for general and special education teachers as well as other education professionals. The authors use expert review to identify and evaluate 159 professional preparation standards from 15 Specialized Professional Associations and the Interstate New Teacher Assessment and Support Consortium in relation to the two factors. Findings showed no significant differences among the standards in relation to enhancing connection among family–professional partnerships. Standards related exclusively to special education, younger students, or teachers (vs other education professionals) were significantly more likely to reflect enhancing capacity among family–professional partnerships. Implications for future research and practice are discussed. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Beginning in the mid-to-late 1980s, the focus on individual quality of life expanded to family quality of life (FQOL) in the field of intellectual disabilities. However, few studies examined FQOL for families who have children with hearing loss. Furthermore, most studies focused on mothers' perceptions of FQOL. The purpose of this study is to understand how different members of a family experience FQOL when there is a member with hearing loss and how those experiences contribute to aggregated FQOL perception as a family unit. Three Korean- American family members, including the father, mother, and individual with hearing loss, participated and presented diverse perceptions of their FQOL. Results indicated each family member described diverse perceptions in seven (58%) of the 12 indicators categorized in four of the five FQOL domains. Implications for future research were described.

In this article, we analyze the Supreme Court's decision in "Endrew F. v. Douglas County School District RE-1" (2017), interpreting the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act (IDEA) and its provisions creating a right of every student with a disability to have an appropriate education. We compare the "Endrew" decision with IDEA and the Court's previous appropriate education decision, "Board of Education of the Hendrick Hudson Central School District v. Rowley" (1982), on four key concepts: educational program, reasonably calculated, progress, and child's circumstances. We discuss the case's implications for systems capacity development and interpret "Endrew" as a narrative about students' ethical claim to dignity.

This commentary reacts to an article that presented an agenda for educational change to encourage early childhood inclusion. It discusses the need for a bottom-up approach, as well as a top-down approach, to ensure accountability in educational reform. The need for increased accountability in the research community is also stressed. (Contains references.) (Author/CR)

The Beach Center Family Quality of Life Scale is an internationally validated instrument for measuring family outcomes. To revise the scale for better alignment with the Family Quality of Life theory, the authors excluded non-outcome items in this revision. In this study, we examined reliability and validity of the revised scale (i.e., the FQoL Scale-21) and its scores for Taiwanese families of children and youth with intellectual disability and developmental delay (age 0-18). Results from 400 Taiwanese respondents suggested that the FQoL Scale-21 has the potential to be used as an indicator of positive outcomes in intervention evaluation, policy making, and service delivery.

This qualitative study improves understanding of parent perspectives about the factors that facilitate family-professional partnerships in schools recognized for inclusive practices. Five themes emerged from 11 focus groups consisting of parents of students with and without disabilities and with varying levels of involvement with the school: (a) school culture of inclusion, (b) positive administrative leadership, (c) attributes of positive partnerships, (d) opportunities for family involvement, and (e) positive outcomes for all students. School culture was an overriding theme, with each of the other themes closely linked to school culture. Implications for strengthening trusting family-professional partnerships as well as directions for future research are discussed.

All educational stakeholders benefit when families and school staff have trusting partnerships as they work together to achieve mutual goals. Eleven focus groups were conducted with parents of children with and without disabilities in six schools, which had been selected as knowledge development sites by the Schoolwide Integrated Framework for Transformation (SWIFT) Center. The purpose of this appreciative inquiry was to understand these parents' perspectives on the nature of trusting partnerships within their schools. The following four themes emerged: (a) communicating, (b) establishing a sense of belonging, (c) demonstrating professional competency and commitment, and (d) building family leadership. Multiple approaches are described for how professionals and families from the schools implemented these four themes. Implications for school practices, preservice education, and future investigation are addressed.

In this article, we analyze the Supreme Court's decision in Endrew F. v. Douglas County School District RE-1 (2017), interpreting the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act (IDEA) and its provisions creating a right of every student with a disability to have an appropriate education. We compare the Endrew decision with IDEA and the Court's previous appropriate education decision, Board of Education of the Hendrick Hudson Central School District v. Rowley (1982), on four key concepts: educational program, reasonably calculated, progress, and child's circumstances. We discuss the case's implications for systems capacity development and interpret Endrew as a narrative about students' ethical claim to dignity., The Supreme Court's decision in Endrew F. v. Douglas County School District RE-1 (2017; henceforth, Endrew), interpreting the 'appropriate education' requirement of the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act (IDEA; 2006), [...]

Competitive employment (i.e., employment in community settings among people without disabilities for minimum wage or higher) improves quality of life for people with disabilities who have individualized support needs (ISN). However, attaining competitive employment can be challenging for people with ISN. This study used a mixed methods design to evaluate the perspectives of 68 families who attended the Family Employment Awareness Training ("FEAT"). Findings indicated that families who attended "FEAT" (a) accessed competitive employment resources following "FEAT" and (b) reported competitive employment outcomes for their family members with ISN following "FEAT." We discuss implications of these findings and recommendations for future research.

Developing children's self-regulation and engagement skills are primary goals of early childhood education. These skills are fostered in both home and preschool environments and can lead to improved educational outcomes. This qualitative case study investigated how a refugee family and Head Start teachers fostered the self-regulation and engagement skills of a 4-year-old boy at risk for disability. It found that adult expectations and practices related to protection, intervention, and affective response in his home environment differed greatly from those in his Head Start environment. His skills steadily improved in both settings during the 4-month study's duration. Implications include using a framework of the three domains--protection, intervention, and affective response--to guide future research.

This article frames the past and future role of the parents of children with disabilities within the context of special education. We highlight their past aspirations: to organize nationally to assert that their children could learn, to codify into law their children's right to an education, and to foster trust-based parent--professional partnerships. Using the past as a prelude to the future, we then identify two aspirations for the future: to foster empathy, compassion, and dignity; and to "get a life" rather than just "get an education." The theme of future aspirations is to develop schools and communities where empathy, compassion, and dignity abound and where, as a consequence, children and adults with disabilities can experience across the full lifespan the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act's outcomes of equal opportunity, independent living, full participation, and economic self-sufficiency.

In this, study, the authors examined the moderating effects of partnership on the relationship between services and supports adequacy and family quality of life (FQOL) for families of children with deaf-blindness ages birth to 21. A social-ecological approach enabled examining the impact of disability on the family system. A survey, consisting of four measures, was completed by 227 parents of children with deaf-blindness. Results suggest that FQOL for families of children with deaf-blindness is explained, in part, by satisfaction with the adequacy of friend and family supports and child-care services. Satisfaction with partnership also significantly predicted FQOL for these families. Significant interaction effects indicated that the relationships (a) between education services adequacy and FQOL and (b) between related services adequacy and FQOL are dependent on satisfaction with partnership. Implications for research and practice are discussed., Family quality of life (FQOL) is 'a dynamic sense of well-being of the family, collectively and subjectively defined and informed by its members, in which individual and family-level needs interact' [...]

This article reports results of a 7-month qualitative study on intellectual and related developmental disabilities in Kinshasa, Democratic Republic of the Congo, particularly as they relate to the causes and meaning of intellectual and developmental disabilities (IDD). This study raises important questions related to the understanding of resilience of persons affected by IDD and the nature and purpose of support they use or desire.

The purpose of this article was to synthesize intervention studies using coaching with parents in early intervention with a focus on (a) definitions and descriptions of coaching with parents; (b) characteristics of families and coaches; (c) parameters such as settings, contexts, dosage, and professional development related to coaching; and (d) child and family outcomes. Through a search of articles from 2011 to 2013, the authors identified 8 studies that met search criteria. Results indicate that there is no common definition/description for the term "coaching with parents in early intervention." Furthermore, the use of the term "coaching with parents" spans a continuum that on the one end can best be described as relationship-directed process and on the other end an intervenor-directed process. This continuum continues to create confusion for practitioners in appropriate use of coaching with parents. In addition, although positive outcomes are noted for infants and toddler who experience disabilities and their families, it is difficult to discern the direct impact of coaching with parents. The studies, as a whole, tend to give broad descriptions for the use of coaching but little information on how to individualize given specific child and family outcomes. Finally, the intended outcomes of coaching with parents are not fully articulated. Given these results, this synthesis has found the need for increased research efforts in the area of coaching with parents with focus on clarification of the term "coaching" and the parameters that affect its effectiveness.

This study examined family quality of life (FQOL) of Turkish families who have children with intellectual disabilities (ID) and autism. To research the perceptions of FQOL and relevant predictive relationships, data were gathered from 3,009 families who have children with ID and autism. The data were collected by using a Socio-demographic Family Information Form, Beach Center Family Quality of Life Scale, and the Family Support Scale. The FQOL and subdomain perceptions of families who have children with ID and autism were slightly above a moderate level; the highest perceptions were in the Family Interaction domain, and the lowest perceptions were in the Physical/Material Well-Being domain. We computed significant positive correlations between overall FQOL perception and family social support domains as well as between overall FQOL perception and sociodemographic variables. In the prediction of overall FQOL perception, the variable that mostly explained total variance was emotional support. For the covariates of care support, household/income, information support, socioeconomic status, age of child, type of disability, and affiliation support, the ability to predict FQOL was weak. Conversely, age of mothers, employment status of mothers, and material support domain were not important predictors in FQOL.

This study documented the process of developing and validating the Family Needs Assessment (FNA), a seven-factor 73-item measure developed for research and practice, using a sample of Taiwanese families. In developing the FNA, the research team identified a theoretical basis for family needs, used literature and qualitative results in generating items, ensured culturally and linguistically accurate translation of the measure, and revised the measure based on results from pilot tests and cognitive interviews. Although a confirmatory factor analysis is necessary to support final validity, results from this study provide a foundation for understanding Taiwanese family needs. According to the results, the domains with highest needs are Hope (i.e., anticipating and achieving positive outcomes) and Disability-Related Services (i.e., getting services and teaching the child with disabilities). Findings from this study indicate that the FNA, developed as a comprehensive, contemporary, accessible, and culturally appropriate tool, can contribute to the disability-related field in research and practice.

There has been a gradual shift from a deficit to a support model for understanding disability over the last two decades. Although more attention is focused on supports at the individual level, policy has provided for the provision of family support. Despite this policy, families' needs for support are on the rise; and research suggests that families of children with severe and multiple disabilities may be at the highest risk for unmet need. This review synthesizes literature published between 1990 and 2010 that reported the relationship between family support and family outcomes (family functioning, family satisfaction, family quality of life, and family stress) for families of children with moderate to severe disabilities. We also report the conceptualization and measurement of family support in the research literature included in the review. Findings showed that (a) across studies, family support was significantly related to family outcomes; (b) there was wide variability in the types and sources of support assessed; and (c) operational definitions of family support were lacking. A discussion of the findings, including limitations of the review, themes, and implications are provided. (Contains 3 tables.)

Relationships between parent ratings of Part C/early intervention (EI) services and family outcomes for families of young children with disabilities were examined--specifically, the early childhood outcomes (ECO)-recommended family outcomes and family quality of life (FQOL). Measures included the Early Childhood Services Survey, the ECO Center Family Outcomes Survey, and the Beach Center Family Quality of Life Scale. Findings support a logic-model relationship between parent ratings of Part C/EI services, ECO-recommended family outcomes, and FQOL. Parent ratings of Part C/EI services were found to predict immediate family outcomes as measured by ECO-recommended family outcomes, and ECO-recommended family outcomes, in turn, predicted the broader outcome of enhanced FQOL. Implications for EI practice and evaluation are discussed. (Contains 7 tables and 2 figures.)

This article provides an in-depth analysis of the comprehensive supports necessary for an adult with multiple disabilities and significant problem behavior to experience an inclusive adulthood. Written from the perspective of parents, the article highlights "lessons learned" about how to implement and finance comprehensive supports across domains of home living, work, friendships, community connections, wellness, as well as additional areas. Practice tips are provided in terms of potential replication. (Contains 1 figure and 1 table.)

The purpose of this study was to examine the professionals' perspectives regarding characteristics of effective partnerships with parents. The sample involved 20 professionals representing the backgrounds of occupational therapists/physical therapists/speech-language pathologists, special education teachers, paraprofessionals, and health professionals. The following three themes were identified through qualitative analysis: (a) gap between family-centered language and actions; (b) "Goldilocks" perception (i.e., the perception that parents may be involved too much, too little, or just right); and (c) parental blame. Future directions for research and practice are suggested. (Contains 1 table.)

Purpose: Family members' perceptions of their quality of life were examined following early identification of deafness in children. Method: A questionnaire was used to solicit ratings of satisfaction from the family members of 207 children who were deaf and younger than 6 years of age. Results: Results indicated that families were generally satisfied with the areas of family life surveyed. Descriptive analysis suggested lower satisfaction ratings in the area of emotional well-being. Families also reported that their child's deafness had the largest impact on their emotional well-being. Family members of children using oral communication with a cochlear implant reported higher satisfaction with their child's speech production and perception outcomes than family members of children using hearing aids alone. Implications: We recommend that service providers and early hearing detection and intervention program coordinators consider additional supports for family well-being following the early identification of deafness in children.

Marlene Wyatt is the mother of three children ages 5 and under. Her middle child, Liz, who is approaching her third birthday, has an autism spectrum disorder. There is never an unclaimed minute at home or work for Marlene. Her husband frequently works overnight and weekend shifts. Marlene works as a custodian at the local school. The family receives an early intervention home visit once every 2 weeks; the practitioner gives Marlene suggestions for following through with routine-based early intervention, especially related to communication and social skills. The family's service coordinator, who has a caseload of 96 families, recently e-mailed Marlene regarding an upcoming transition planning conference to decide on what preschool Liz will attend once she turns 3. The service coordinator said this would require a new evaluation and that many people would be at the meeting. Marlene has no idea how to prepare for the meeting so that she can make the best decisions for Liz. This article addresses the challenges that families of children with disabilities face in having access to evidence-based knowledge in order to be an equal decision maker with educators. Knowledge-to-action (KTA) guides are one resource that provides families access to top-tier knowledge on evidence-based practice; this knowledge can help parents carry out their responsibilities to participate with educators in making decisions about their children--and in holding educators accountable for providing beneficial interventions. (Contains 2 figures and 2 tables.)

The purpose of this paper is to review intervention research to determine the types of family support that are reported and evaluated in early childhood. This review includes 26 articles evaluating (a) parent training programs; (b) general family-centered practice models which offer comprehensive supports; (c) peer support; (d) two-generation programs; and (e) respite care. In the article, we focus our discussion on: (a) the definitions or description of family support, (b) the family variables or impacts evaluated and their findings, and (c) the link between support and impacts to both the ECO outcomes and the family quality of life domains. This review indicates a need for specific and consistent terminology in defining family support in the early intervention field. Further, a family support framework to guide future research to investigate both long-term and short-term outcomes for families is warranted. (Contains 1 table.)

Noting the absence of sound theoretical underpinnings for family quality of life (FQoL) research and work, the authors note that, to guide FQoL practice, research findings must be schematically organized so as to enable practitioners to implement empirical findings effectively. One way to meet this goal is to introduce a theoretical model that clearly displays and describes the relationships among variables that explain FQoL. Thus, the authors propose a theory of FQoL designed to explain how various concepts--systems, performance, individuals, and family units--influence variations in FQoL. In defining each of the concepts, they describe the theory's application within the context of a family vignette, illustrating how professionals might apply theoretical propositions to their practice. In their application, they stress that the application of the FQoL theory they presented is not an end but rather a developmental stage that leads to further refinement of the FQoL theory. The application and development of this theory is a reciprocal process among researchers, practitioners, and families. Further, their FQoL theoretical model can serve to enable practitioners to examine which family, ecological, and programmatic variables are amenable to change to positively impact FQoL. Given this, they assert that FQoL is not a static concept but, instead, ebbs and flows during the course of raising a child with a disability. They call for further collaborative work among workers to continually improve the FQoL theory and to successfully implement it in practice. (Contains 2 figures.)

Educators can better serve students who come from diverse cultural backgrounds by understanding the differing cultural values of these students and their families. This article explores different cultural perspectives using a cultural prism approach, focused most specifically on the Korean and Chinese cultures. (Contains 2 tables.)

This article discusses a new approach to knowledge translation using Web 2.0 technologies in an online Community of Practice (CoP). The purpose of the CoP is to promote wisdom-based action, a process that encourages people to engage with knowledge, match it to their own values, vision, and contexts, make a well-informed decision, and act on that decision. We use our own Early Childhood Family Support CoP as a case study.

In response to the need for family-centered follow-up, this study examined parents' experiences with deafness after early identification. Qualitative inquiry methods were used to explore and describe the perceptions and experiences of nine parents of children identified with severe to profound deafness. Parents participated in face-to-face conversations and interviews by phone and e-mail. Naturalistic inquiry methods were used to identify themes in family experiences including reactions to diagnosis; decision making; impact of deafness on family interactions, family time, and the child; positive experiences in early intervention; and desired support services. Implications and recommendations for early intervention programs are discussed. (Contains 4 tables.)

A pre-postassessment, single-subject, pilot study was implemented, testing the hypothesis that positive behavior support (PBS) would improve family quality-of-life outcomes by reducing parental stress and challenging behaviors of preschool children who are culturally and linguistically diverse and reside in urban, disadvantaged communities. Six participants attended parent-training workshops designed to empower them to use PBS child behavior management strategies and enhance their own mental health outcomes via a functional parent-child relationship. Parental stress levels were measured and anecdotal reports of child outcomes obtained. Findings corroborate outcomes from preceding research supporting PBS as a socially valid, culturally responsive intervention effective at producing results acceptable to participants. Future research and suggestions are provided for closing the gap between research and practice. (Contains 8 tables and 1 figure.)

This article utilizes four knowledge sources to characterize a current gap in policy and practice related to serving families in early intervention (birth to 5) programs. It argues that the field of early intervention has focused primarily on implementing family-centered practices by focusing on how families and professionals should interact. The field has not sufficiently addressed what supports and services should be offered to families to enhance the likelihood of positive outcomes for families themselves and for their children with disabilities. The paper concludes with recommendations for enhancing policy, research, and professional development related to family services and supports.

In positive behavior support (PBS) practices, one critical issue involves helping professionals understand and respect the values of families from culturally diverse backgrounds. This article summarizes embedded cultural values of PBS represented in four key features of the PBS process: collaborative partnerships, functional assessment, contextual fit, and meaningful lifestyle outcomes. With acknowledgment of acculturation, the contrast between Chinese cultural values and embedded PBS values is illustrated in the context of implementing PBS for Chinese American families. (Contains 1 table and 1 figure.)

The purpose of this review is to (a) document the current status of conceptualizing and measuring family outcomes related to having a member with an intellectual disability and (b) determine the extent to which family research focuses on internal family characteristics as contrasted to external family support. The reviewers collected 28 articles using the terms well-being, adaptation, family functioning, or family quality of life in the title. Results of our analyses are presented as a comparison between well-being, adaptation, and family functioning articles in one group and family quality of life articles in a second group. Both groups lacked explicit conceptual definitions, theory, and random/representative samples. The articles placed an undue emphasis on maternal participation, and tended to report a single family member score as representative of the whole family. Two major differences between the groups was a tendency for family quality of life studies to be grounded in conceptual frameworks and focus on new instrument development. Recommendations for future research directions are included. (Contains 2 tables and 1 figure.)

The authors undertook a review of measures available for assessing outcomes of early childhood services for children with disabilities and their families. With principles of family-centered practice mandating the inclusion of both family and child outcome measures in effective evaluation plans, the review examined measures with established psychometric properties for (a) documenting the effectiveness of partnerships with families, and (b) documenting the effectiveness of services and supports for families. Constructs and their associated measures related to partnerships include satisfaction with the overall program and empowerment. The constructs for outcomes of supports and services include social support, parenting, and family quality of life. The authors reviewed measures for each of the five constructs. They note that the selection of appropriate measures to assess the outcomes of family support and services depends on the specific configuration of support services provided by the program and that each program may have to be explicit about the outcomes it wants to impact and therefore measure.

The school-wide application of positive behavior support (PBS) is a prevention-oriented approach to student discipline that is characterized by its focus on defining and teaching behavioral expectations, rewarding appropriate behaviors, continual evaluation of its effectiveness, and the integration of supports for individuals, groups, the school as a whole, and school/family/community partnerships. Although school-wide PBS has been implemented in hundreds of schools thus far, many professionals in education and psychology remain, for the most part, unfamiliar with this proactive alternative for increasing positive student behavior. This article reviews the foundations and core components of school-wide PBS, provides a case example of the implementation and preliminary evaluation of school-wide PBS in an urban middle school, and summarizes critical issues and future research directions in this area of considerable importance to professionals in educational psychology and related fields.

This article presents the authors' response to Gunther and Diekema's argument about growth attenuation and due process. As a case study, growth attenuation raises complicated issues. The authors address some issues that have not been sufficiently addressed. Those involve family support, assistive technology, constitutional rights to "self," the standards and procedures for decision making, and the social construction of disability. Then, they connect this case to two other issues: the human genome project and the uses of neuroscience. Both seek to enhance a person in order to achieve a quality of life that is more acceptable to the person, the person's family, and society. They conclude by looking to the future of enhancing the quality of life of people and families affected by disability. But they do so, fully mindful of the nation's shameful history of discrimination, all too often abetted by professionals aggressively employing usual and innovative technologies.

This paper focuses on the emerging literature related to self-determination funding which holds that individuals with disabilities should have greater control over the money allocated to serve them than they have had in the past and that service-provider agencies have now. The purpose of this paper is to review the literature on self-determination funding to analyze terminology/descriptions and anticipated outcomes. This paper has two concerns. The first is that as students with disabilities who have had a self-determination curriculum as part of their special education curriculum move toward transition to adulthood, they are going to encounter a whole different use of the term (i.e., self-determination) as they consider funding options. Secondly, there are a wide variety of terms regarding self-determination funding that are used interchangeably and that can unintentionally confuse stakeholders, including individuals with disabilities, families, service providers, and policymakers. This article presents the broad range of terms/definitions and anticipated outcomes related to self-determination funding. (Contains 1 table.)

The daily educational experiences of a young child affect not only the child but also the family. The time and energy a family invests to achieve optimal educational experiences will likely impact the whole family system. As such, early education service providers are responsible for decreasing the challenges that parents experience so that positive family, as well as child, outcomes can be achieved. In this article, the authors describe how a family's quality of life (FQOL) may be impacted by one educational experience--early education in an inclusive setting--and provide guidance about how best to support a family's maintenance of a high FQOL. The authors define the two key concepts FQOL and "inclusive early education" and provide a brief background. (Contains 2 tables.)