COOPERATIVE RELATIONSHIP BETWEEN THE PARENTS OF PERSONS WITH INTELLECTUAL AND DEVELOPMENTAL DISABILITIES AND PROFESSIONAL STAFF

To successfully educate and rehabilitate persons with moderate, severe and profound learning disabilities it is vital to have an effective cooperative relationship between their parents and the professional staff working with these persons. This paper presents the results of a study which examines how the level of cooperative relationship between the parents of persons with moderate, severe and profound learning disabilities and the professional staff of Training, Occupation and Care Centres in Slovenia is correlated to the interactive style and family competence of their families. The sample comprised 296 randomly selected parents and 298 randomly selected professional staff. The results show that the level of the relationship between parents and professional staff is significantly correlated to the level of the interactive style and family competence both in the parents' families and the families of the professional staff. The conclusion proposes some steps for improving the situation in this field