Parent advisors: Enhancing services for young children with special needs

The insights of parents of children with special needs can enhance the syst em of services and professional education programs. In the military system of services for children with special needs, parents have participated in a variety of advisory activities, including writing competencies and develop ing teaching strategies for medical education. This article details the par ent advisory process used to write competencies and develop teaching strate gies for the medical school and includes recommendations for involving pare nts in successful advisory activities.