Journal of Vocational Rehabilitation

Parent-to-Parent programs provide emotional and informational support to parents who have a son or daughter with a disability by matching a trained veteran parent in a one-to-one relationship with a parent newly referred to the program. Because the veteran parent and the referred parent have similar disability and family issues, the veteran parent is able to provide a unique form of support based upon these shared common experiences and the knowledge and wisdom acquired along the way. In some Parent-to-Parent programs, parents of young adults with special needs who have already made the transition from the special education service system to adult services are providing this valuable support to families of adolescents preparing for this transition. This article reports the results of a national survey of Parent-to-Parent programs, and discusses the implications of the survey findings for parent support during transition planning and the move into the adult-service system.

My name is Michelle Pettitt. I am 23 years old. I am on my own now. I live in a group home. I have three jobs. I work in an office at Iowa Electric on Monday, Wednesday, and Friday. I work in Community Relations at Grant Wood Area Education Agency on Tuesday and Thursday. Sometimes on Saturday I do salad prep at Hardee's Restaurant. I like to have jobs. I'm saving to buy a CD player and to fly to Denver to see my sister and brother-in-law. I am in college too at Kirkwood Community College. I take a computer class. Next year I also want to take business and math. In my future I want to move to an apartment and I want to work at Wendy's too. And I want to get married.

These two publications deserve to be reviewed as a pair. The vision and philosophy of community inclusion is highly evident in both books. In fact, David Schwartz, the author of Crossing the River, wrote the preface in The Whole Community Catalogue. I specifically selected these books for the topic of this issue of the Journal of Vocational Rehabilitation because they provide a clear path for where supports are heading for individuals with disabilities. Family members need to hear people talk of capacities, not limitation; dreams, not goals and objectives; quality of life, not least restrictive environment; and inclusion, not separation. Please share the contents of these two books with the family members and significant people in the lives of the individuals you support.