Family Functions

1
Turnbull et al.
Families, Professionals, and Exceptionality, 2e
Copyright 2006 by Pearson Education, Inc.
Upper Saddle River, New Jersey 07458
All rights reserved.
Framing Questions
What are all the different responsibilities
that families must assume for their
members?
How does a child with a disability impact
each of these areas of responsibility?
What can educators do to enable
families to be as successful as possible
in meeting their responsibilities?
2
Turnbull et al.
Families, Professionals, and Exceptionality, 2e
Copyright 2006 by Pearson Education, Inc.
Upper Saddle River, New Jersey 07458
All rights reserved.
Family Systems Framework
3
Turnbull et al.
Families, Professionals, and Exceptionality, 2e
Copyright 2006 by Pearson Education, Inc.
Upper Saddle River, New Jersey 07458
All rights reserved.
Family Functions
Affection
Self-esteem
Spirituality
Economics
Daily Care
Socialization
Recreation
Education
4
Turnbull et al.
Families, Professionals, and Exceptionality, 2e
Copyright 2006 by Pearson Education, Inc.
Upper Saddle River, New Jersey 07458
All rights reserved.
Family Functions
Although each of the 8 categories of needs are distinct,
in many ways the functions are interrelated and impact
one another.
Each family function is affected by every family
member, including the family member with an
exceptionality.
Cultural and personal preferences influence each
family function.
Most families have pre-determined priorities for
carrying out their family functions and seek to achieve
balance in carrying out the functions.
5
Turnbull et al.
Families, Professionals, and Exceptionality, 2e
Copyright 2006 by Pearson Education, Inc.
Upper Saddle River, New Jersey 07458
All rights reserved.
Affection
Exchanging verbal and physical
affection; exchange of unconditional
love among family members.
Cultural influences strongly determine
how families deepen their emotional
commitment and display affection.
6
Turnbull et al.
Families, Professionals, and Exceptionality, 2e
Copyright 2006 by Pearson Education, Inc.
Upper Saddle River, New Jersey 07458
All rights reserved.
Self-Esteem
Families help their members establish who
they are and their worth as people.
A child with a disability can influence other
family members self-esteem in positive,
negative, and neutral ways.
Self-esteem is susceptible to many
challenges across the lifespan.
Teachers play a critical role in supporting the
self-esteem of their students and families as
a whole.
7
Turnbull et al.
Families, Professionals, and Exceptionality, 2e
Copyright 2006 by Pearson Education, Inc.
Upper Saddle River, New Jersey 07458
All rights reserved.
Spirituality
Spiritual refers to beliefs associated with
spirituality and religion.
In many cultures, the role of the church and
ones culture are deeply intertwined.
Children with disabilities are a catalyst for a
familys increased spirituality.
Many persons with disabilities, like persons
without, report religion to be a very important
part of their lives.
8
Turnbull et al.
Families, Professionals, and Exceptionality, 2e
Copyright 2006 by Pearson Education, Inc.
Upper Saddle River, New Jersey 07458
All rights reserved.
Economics
Families make decisions daily on how to spend
their income and handle their finances.
Family resources vary widely, determining the
familys ability to respond to the challenges of
their child with an exceptionality.
Often a childs disability creates excessive
costs for the family.
Additional costs of the exceptionality:
increased consumptive demands and
decreased productive capacities.
9
Turnbull et al.
Families, Professionals, and Exceptionality, 2e
Copyright 2006 by Pearson Education, Inc.
Upper Saddle River, New Jersey 07458
All rights reserved.
The Impact of Exceptionality on Family
Employment
Drawbacks:
Extensive caregiving
demands associated
with a childs condition
may deter employment
for a family member.
Difficulty securing
satisfactory child-care
arrangements for their
children.
Benefits:
Parents who work
some hours outside
of the home have
better mental health.
Opportunities to
pursue a meaningful
and fulfilling career
(e.g., a father who
becomes a special
education teacher).
10
Turnbull et al.
Families, Professionals, and Exceptionality, 2e
Copyright 2006 by Pearson Education, Inc.
Upper Saddle River, New Jersey 07458
All rights reserved.
Daily Care
Family responsibilities relating to their
members physical and health needs.
Includes the day-to-day tasks of living:
cooking, cleaning, transportation.
Health impairments of children greatly
increase the breadth and depth of caregiving
on a daily basis.
All children, including those with
exceptionalities can make contributions to
family daily care needs.
11
Turnbull et al.
Families, Professionals, and Exceptionality, 2e
Copyright 2006 by Pearson Education, Inc.
Upper Saddle River, New Jersey 07458
All rights reserved.
Socialization
Persons of all ages, irrespective of disability,
need opportunities to create meaningful
friendships.
Developing friendships is challenging for
some children with exceptionalities.
Some families will need guidance in
facilitating friendships for their children; in
such instance, teachers can serve a vital role
in helping facilitate friendships in the school
setting.
12
Turnbull et al.
Families, Professionals, and Exceptionality, 2e
Copyright 2006 by Pearson Education, Inc.
Upper Saddle River, New Jersey 07458
All rights reserved.
Recreation
Enjoying leisure time is an important
component of quality of life for individuals
with exceptionalities and their families.
A familys culture influences its views about
the role of recreation and leisure.
Depending upon the nature of the childs
exceptionality, the familys recreational role
may be expanded, unaffected, or curtailed.
Leisure and recreation should be an
important part of each childs curriculum.
13
Turnbull et al.
Families, Professionals, and Exceptionality, 2e
Copyright 2006 by Pearson Education, Inc.
Upper Saddle River, New Jersey 07458
All rights reserved.
Education
Across cultures, families generally place a
strong emphasis on education.
Families from diverse cultural and linguistic
backgrounds often encounter educational
and social barriers in attaining equal
opportunities for their children.
It is important to maintain a balanced
approach to educational goals since
overemphasis of education may be a
detriment to the other family functions.
14
Turnbull et al.
Families, Professionals, and Exceptionality, 2e
Copyright 2006 by Pearson Education, Inc.
Upper Saddle River, New Jersey 07458
All rights reserved.
Time as a Factor in Meeting Family
Functions
Time is a major issue for all families.
Approximately 2/3 of all employed
parents report that they do not have
enough time to meet their childrens
needs.
15
Turnbull et al.
Families, Professionals, and Exceptionality, 2e
Copyright 2006 by Pearson Education, Inc.
Upper Saddle River, New Jersey 07458
All rights reserved.
Time as a Factor in Meeting Family
Functions
Barriers to efficient use of parent time,
as reported by parents:
The inability of professionals to coordinate
their activities among themselves;
The overwhelming number of tasks parents
were asked by professionals to complete;
The lack of local and accessible services;
A lack of flexible and family-centered
scheduling of services.
16
Turnbull et al.
Families, Professionals, and Exceptionality, 2e
Copyright 2006 by Pearson Education, Inc.
Upper Saddle River, New Jersey 07458
All rights reserved.
Discussion
What are all the different responsibilities
that families must assume for their
members?
How does a child with a disability impact
each of these areas of responsibility?
What can educators do to enable
families to be as successful as possible
in meeting their responsibilities?
17
Turnbull et al.
Families, Professionals, and Exceptionality, 2e
Copyright 2006 by Pearson Education, Inc.
Upper Saddle River, New Jersey 07458
All rights reserved.