Texas SenseAbilities – 2023 Special Issue on Family Engagement: Lessons Learned From Our Families
Featured Article
Introduction to this Special Issue
The TX SenseAbilities team is excited to bring you a Special Edition that focuses on an important new initiative, “The Value of Family Engagement: Identifying Unique Needs and Priorities of Families with Children Who Are Deaf-Blind” (Family Engagement Report - link in article). We believe this is a “call to action” and an opportunity to stake a marker in the ground to measure our collective progress.
Family Wisdom
Family Engagement: CALL TO ACTION!
TX SenseAbilities is excited to share the Family Engagement Report from an important initiative facilitated by the National Center on Deaf-Blindness (NCDB). This report, The Value of Family Engagement: Identifying Unique Needs and Priorities of Families with Children Who Are Deaf-Blind (2022), seeks to elevate family voices and is a Call to Action for all families of children with disabilities, not just those with children who are deaf-blind, and the professionals who work with them. Family engagement is the focus for all the articles in this special issue of TX SenseAbilities, and we welcome responses, reactions, and questions. We invite you to examine all the articles in this special issue and think about the ways they might apply to your family or impact your practice.
Everyone Has a Voice
The mother of a son who is deafblind describes her family's journey of discovery into the best ways to communicate with him. In doing so, they realize the importance of everyone’s voice, no matter the form it may take. Exceptional Parent also published an article by this author in March 2023.
Key to Understanding How Family Engagement is Defined
This article shares information on how the national initiative’s family engagement definition was created and offers statements to consider while reading about it.
Hindsight is 20/20
The mother of a young man with multiple disabilities reminisces about the changes in his life and her role in his education. As she worked with his teams over the years and shared her goals for him, she discovered the importance of flexibility and listening to others. Sometimes, it’s okay to change your mind!
Families as Partners: Family Engagement
Valentina Gonzalez shares ways to strengthen family engagement and foster active collaboration through proactive outreach, shared decision-making, and meaningful communication to enhance student achievement. Reprinted with permission from Seidlitz Education and the author.
In CHARGE of My Life
A young adult with CHARGE Syndrome provides suggestions for families of other children who are deafblind. She also introduces her new book, In CHARGE of My Life, which she wrote to let others know what it’s like to grow up with CHARGE and deafblindness. She credits much of her insight to her involvement in the Texas Teacher of Students Who Are DeafBlind pilot program.
Family Experiences and Needs
Excerpt from The Value of Family Engagement: Identifying Unique Needs and Priorities of Families with Children Who Are Deaf-Blind. The following is part of the Family Engagement Report: The Value of Family Engagement: Identifying Unique Needs and Priorities of Families with Children Who Are Deaf-Blind. While most of the Family Engagement Report reflects the experiences and needs of all families who have children with disabilities, the research-based section excerpted below is unique to families with children and adults who are deafblind. For the full list of references, follow the National Center on Deaf-Blindness References link in the References section at the end of the article.
The “Now What” for Texas
The authors describe the commitment of TSBVI Outreach and the Texas Deafblind Project to “follow the lead of families” as they implement the goals of the Family Engagement Report.