This book presents information on parent and family conferencing skills to assist classroom teachers in becoming involved in helping parents and families contend with the various issues they routinely confront when raising and living with a child with a disability. Part 1, "The Family of the Child with an Exceptionality," discusses the impact of children and youth with exceptionalities on families and examines special family considerations relating to age, nontraditional parents and families, and minority or ethnic cultural groups. Part 2, "Basic Skills and Strategies Needed for Successful Conferencing and Collaboration," addresses the cultivation of trust in the family-professional relationship and the importance of effective listening skills. Part 3, "Regularly Occurring and Ongoing Conferencing and Collaboration Activities," includes chapters on: laying the foundation for successful collaboration; considering the legal and legislative requirements in developing Individualized Education Program (IEP) conferences; training family members to be treatment agents; dealing with progress report conferences, unplanned conferences, and group conferences; and resolving conflicts. The appendices include materials for using role-play to simulate conferences on the IEP, behavior management, progress reports, and conflict resolution. (Contains over 500 references.) (CR)