Review
...a book that will help all families whose children have special needs. --
Polly Arango, Executive Director, Family Voices ...testimony to the strengths of families as pathfinders, and the spirit and generosity within the Parent to Parent movement. --
Nancy DiVenere, Executive Director, Parent to Parent of Vermont
About the Author
Betsy Santelli, M.Ed., received her master's degree in special education from the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill and certification in parent and family education from the University of Minnesota-Twin Cities campus. Her professional experiences include teaching in special education, facilitating parent support and education classes, and training early childhood special education teachers. Since 1988, she has directed the Parent to Parent projects at the Beach Center on Families and Disability at The University of Kansas. Her research with and for parents who are participating in Parent to Parent programs has added to the descriptive and evaluative information that is now available on Parent to Parent. In addition to her research on Parent to Parent, Betsy also serves as a national consultant for those who are interested in starting or expanding a local or statewide Parent to Parent program in their area and as a facilitator for representing and meeting the national needs of local and statewide Parent to Parent programs and others with a commitment to comprehensive family-centered family support services. Although neither of Betsy's two daughters has a disability, Betsy had a very close relationship with her cousin, Jamie, who had epilepsy and cerebral palsy. Jamie's friendship and his special needs helped to determine Betsy's professional career path.
Florene Stewart Poyadue, M.A., is an award-winning master teacher, counselor, registered nurse, and mother of four children-one of whom, Dean, has special needs. She founded Parents Helping Parents, Inc., a nonprofit family resource center now recognized by the Maternal and Child Health Bureau as a national model. Parent leaders and professionals from foreign countries have consulted with her about developing Parent to Parents programs in their homelands. With Kaiser Permanente as partner, she developed a method for cultivating family-centeredness in managed health care. An internationally acclaimed keynote speaker and consultant with more than 25 years of experience, she also has traveled through the United States of America and Canada, helping others solve problems and create service systems. Her alma mater, Santa Clara University, awarded her a doctorate in community service before she delivered its 1993 commencement address; and the state of California named her a Woman of the Year in 1991.
Jane Leora Young is a freelance writer and has more than 100 published articles in various publications. She received her associates degree in liberal studies and a certificate in writing social commentary from Pennsylvania State University. She earned her bachelor's degree in communications from Columbus University. Jane has worked with Parent to Parent of Pennsylvania for 5 years and has more than 10 years of personal experience working with individuals with autism and attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder. She published a children's book, This Is the Story About a Boy Named Zack (Minuteman Press, 1997), which is centered around illustrations that her son with autism created, and a poetry book, Monday Morning (Sterling House Publishers, 2000), which explores the sorrow, joy, and acceptance of having a child with special needs. She is working on a series of reworked fairy tales that feature individuals with disabilities and another book that discusses the world of disability when it affects a middle-class family. Jane is active in local, statewide, and national support groups, including the Advisory Board on Autism and Related Disorders (ABOARD), the Autism Society of America, and Supporting Autism and Families Everywhere (SAFE). She is a public speaker on autism, communication needs, and siblings. She plans to continue her research, writing, speaking, and teaching in the hopes that she can improve the lives of individuals with disabilities.
