Abstract
Purpose of review
Parents of children with complex neurodisabilities have multiple encounters with care professionals; many parents view these encounters as unsatisfactory, citing a failure to listen to their perspectives. This meta-narrative review provides a novel synthesis of the research traditions examining parent-professional collaboration. This re-evaluation of collaborative relationships is timely, given current dialogues within children’s services in response to evolving understandings of disability and neurodiversity.
Recent findings
Seven research traditions are described with roots in: social justice, social ecology and sociology, community psychology, adolescent psychiatry, special education, cultural anthropology and critical disability studies.
Summary
This review highlights mixed messages between policies and experiences which can create discord between parents and professionals, along with institutional contexts which prohibit relationship building. Flexible and responsive services are challenging to deliver but co-developed interventions which value parents’ knowledge and skills are an important driver for institutional and policy change.
Parents of children with complex neurodisabilities have multiple encounters with care professionals; many parents view these encounters as unsatisfactory, citing a failure to listen to their perspectives. This meta-narrative review provides a novel synthesis of the research traditions examining parent-professional collaboration. This re-evaluation of collaborative relationships is timely, given current dialogues within children’s services in response to evolving understandings of disability and neurodiversity.
Recent findings
Seven research traditions are described with roots in: social justice, social ecology and sociology, community psychology, adolescent psychiatry, special education, cultural anthropology and critical disability studies.
Summary
This review highlights mixed messages between policies and experiences which can create discord between parents and professionals, along with institutional contexts which prohibit relationship building. Flexible and responsive services are challenging to deliver but co-developed interventions which value parents’ knowledge and skills are an important driver for institutional and policy change.
| Original language | English |
|---|---|
| Article number | 16 |
| Number of pages | 16 |
| Journal | Current Developmental Disorders Reports |
| Volume | 12 |
| DOIs | |
| Publication status | Published - 29 Apr 2025 |
Keywords
- Collaboration
- Parent-professional relationships
- Neurodisability
- Family-centred care
- Rehabilitation
ASJC Scopus subject areas
- Speech and Hearing
- Rehabilitation
- Health(social science)
- Communication
- Social Psychology
