This book examines the words and discourse as well as their meaning and impact on the everyday culture of a multidisciplinary team at a school for students with mental disabilities. The book examines the organizational, social, professional, and emotional experiences of team members from such disciplines as child and school psychology, special education, therapy (e.g., occupational, speech), social work, and pediatric medicine within a special education school. It explores the ways in which team members describe and interpret the day-to-day requirements of working effectively in a special education school, using their own language and discourse from a subjective point of view. In addition, the book analyzes and interprets the influence of language and discourse on the outlook, behavior patterns, and the coping of team members working in the school with the students, among themselves as a team, and with the difficulties and dilemmas that concern them as well the solutions that they themselves introduce for all these issues. This book, with its focus on the unique and complex work environment of the multidisciplinary special education team, is essential reading for researchers, professionals, and graduate students in child and school psychology, therapeutic disciplines (e.g., occupational, speech), social work, pediatric medicine, and allied mental health and medical fields.

Poverty. Lack of social support. Limited access to education. High risk for health problems. Indigenous communities face an inordinate number of hardships. But when children have special needs, these problems multiply exponentially, making existing difficulties considerably worse. School-Parent Collaborations in Indigenous Communities: Providing Services for Children with Disabilities begins with an in-depth overview of indigenous experience and psychology, and situates disabilities within the contexts of indigenous communities and education services. The pilot study at the core of the book, conducted among the Bedouins of southern Israel, shows this knowledge in action as special education personnel engage parents in interventions for their children. Going beyond facile concepts of cultural sensitivity, the model recasts professionals as cultural mediators between school and family. This practice- oriented information has the potential to improve not only the well-being of children and families, but of the greater community as well. Featured in the coverage: * Unique characteristics of indigenous communities and children with disabilities. * Psychological models of reactions to disability. * Benefits of multidisciplinary teams. * Factors affecting collaboration between indigenous parents of children with disabilities and school professionals. * Core principles of indigenously attuned collaboration. * An extended case study on collaboration between parents of children with disabilities and school professionals in a Bedouin community. School-Parent Collaborations in Indigenous Communities is a breakthrough resource for researchers, graduate students, and professionals working with special needs children in child and school psychology, international and comparative education, social work, cross-cultural psychology, public health, and educational psychology.

This book examines the words and discourse as well as their meaning and impact on the everyday culture of a multidisciplinary team at a school for students with mental disabilities. The book examines the organizational, social, professional, and emotional experiences of team members from such disciplines as child and school psychology, special education, therapy (e.g., occupational, speech), social work, and pediatric medicine within a special education school. It explores the ways in which team members describe and interpret the day-to-day requirements of working effectively in a special education school, using their own language and discourse from a subjective point of view. In addition, the book analyzes and interprets the influence of language and discourse on the outlook, behavior patterns, and the coping of team members working in the school with the students, among themselves as a team, and with the difficulties and dilemmas that concern them as well the solutions that they themselves introduce for all these issues. This book, with its focus on the unique and complex work environment of the multidisciplinary special education team, is essential reading for researchers, professionals, and graduate students in child and school psychology, therapeutic disciplines (e.g., occupational, speech), social work, pediatric medicine, and allied mental health and medical fields.