Father-Friendly Classrooms: Making a Space for Dads of Children With Disabilities

In this article, we summarize the critical issues and provide practical strategies to involving fathers of students with disabilities in the educational process. Research suggests that educators need to take special and deliberate steps to assure that fathers are as actively involved as possible in the education of their children with disabilities. Therefore, we recommend that teachers and other school professionals develop stronger partnerships with fathers by avoiding assumptions, using technology to improve father access to educational information and meetings, making parent meetings more interactive, ensuring that school activities and events involve the whole family, and connecting fathers to other fathers. We have developed multiple vignettes to help illustrate the diversity of father experiences in school settings, as well as the ways in which teachers can implement these recommended strategies.