The Best Quality Cooperation between Parents and Experts in Early Intervention

The process of early intervention, both for children with delayed development and for those with disabilities, depends to a great extent on parent-expert cooperation. Based on an analysis of literature, this article describes the main challenges facing successful parental cooperation and what is to be achieved by it. The results of a survey of 984 mothers in Bavaria are used to illustrate the personal views of mothers regarding cooperation and what they expect to achieve from parent-expert partnerships. The indicators for effective parent-expert collaboration that became apparent from this survey can and should be used in the development of systematic cooperation diagnostics for early intervention.