This book is for courses that prepare special and general educators and related service providers to form successful partnerships with families of children with disabilities. Written by the best-known authors in the field of family and professional collaboration, this practical text instructs teachers and families how to empower, collaborate, and advocate for children with special needs. It retains the features of the third edition-the family systems perspectives, an emphasis on empowerment through parent/family and professional collaboration, and a multicultural approach. The authors have created a framework that transforms the complex theory of empowerment and implements techniques into an approach that is easy to understand and to apply.