Background: Children with disabilities stand to gain from an array of services and interventions to support their development. However, relationships between parents of children with disabilities and professionals can be fraught, with the potential that professionals undermine the role of parents and overlook their agency. Aim: The aim of this study was to examine the nature of partnerships between parents of children with disabilities and professionals in the Early Childhood Development (ECD) sector, and the influences that shape partnerships within a particular context. Setting: This article documents the experiences of parents of children with disabilities from a national organisation, in respect of their partnerships with professionals. Methods: The research was a qualitative case study of a national organisation of parents of disabled children, the Disabled Children’s Action Group (DICAG), that has engaged in many different partnerships within different provinces of South Africa. Data generation techniques were document analysis and focus group discussion with staff and provincial branch members of the national DICAG office in Cape Town. Results: The findings of the study provide a nuanced and contextually situated understanding of the complexity of parent–professional partnerships in the disability sector. A key issue that emerges is that to recognise and disrupt pervasive dominant discourses and their potential to weaken partnerships, professionals need to critically attune themselves to the situated experiences of those whom they seek to support. Conclusion: The findings suggest that there is a need for a rights-based social justice agenda to underpin parent–professional relationships, to address the power dynamics and pervasive discourses that oppress the parent actors.

中文翻译：

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伙伴关系的做法：南非残疾儿童行动小组的个案研究

背景：残疾儿童将从一系列支持其发展的服务和干预措施中受益。但是，残疾儿童的父母与专业人士之间的关系可能会充满麻烦，因为专业人士有可能破坏父母的角色，而忽视他们的代理。目的：本研究的目的是研究残疾儿童父母与幼儿发展部门（ECD）专业人士之间伙伴关系的性质，以及在特定背景下影响伙伴关系的影响。地点：本文记录了来自国家组织的残疾儿童父母与专业人士合作的经历。方法：该研究是对残疾儿童父母的全国组织，即残疾儿童行动小组（DICAG）的定性案例研究，该组织在南非不同省份之间建立了许多不同的伙伴关系。数据生成技术是文档分析和与开普敦国家DICAG办公室的省级分支机构成员进行的焦点小组讨论。结果：研究结果提供了对残疾人部门父母与专业伙伴关系的复杂性的细致入微的理解。出现的一个关键问题是，要认识到并破坏普遍存在的主流话语及其削弱合作伙伴关系的潜力，专业人士需要严格地调适自己所寻求支持者的实际经验。结论：