FATHERS AND FAMILY-CENTERED EARLY INTERVENTION

Involving fathers in family-centered services presents a number of challenges to early intervention service providers. One is to move beyond practices responsive to the priorities and preferences of only the mother, to providing that intervention in a manner that responds to the priorities and preferences of both mother and father. This article reviews the influence of the father's positive relationship on his developing child and on his own satisfaction. It also suggests approaches that may facilitate that relationship with his child and with the child's early intervention program.