Brothers and Sisters: An Special Part of Exceptional Families Tapa blanda - 2006

In addition to teaching and serving as Chair of the Department of Educational Psychology and Special Education at Georgia State University in Atlanta, Peggy A. Gallagher coordinates the Early Childhood Special Education program and also directs Project SCEIs (Skilled Credentialed Early Interventionists), a collaborative between six universities as part of Georgia (TM)s Part C Early Intervention Program, to develop statewide training for parents and professionals. She holds a doctorate in special education from the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill. Dr. Gallagher has extensive training and experience in working with families of young children with disabilities and in developing personnel preparation systems. Early in her career, as a teacher of young children with special needs, Dr. Gallagher became interested in sibling relationships as she got to know her students (TM) brothers and sisters. Subsequently, she co-founded the Sibling Information Network in 1981 with one of her co-authors, Dr. Thomas H. Powell. She and her husband Kevin are the parents of two teenagers. Thomas

Prior to his appointment as President of Mount Saint Mary (TM)s University, Thomas H. Powell was President of Glenville State College in Glenville, West Virginia. Dr. Powell has served as Dean of the College of Education at Winthrop University in Rock Hill, South Carolina, and Dean of the College of Education and Human Services at Montana State University-- Billings. He received his doctorate in special education from Peabody College of Vanderbilt University. Powell founded the SiblingInformation Network with Peggy A. Gallagher. He also is the founding director of the University of Connecticut (TM)s University Affiliated Program on Disabilities. He and his wife Irene have three children.

Cheryl A. Rhodes is a licensed marriage and family therapist and a licensed professional counselor with expertise in working with families of children with disabilities. She holds a master (TM)s degree in counseling from City University of New York "Brooklyn College. Ms. Rhodes has been a trainer, project director, consultant, and counselor for more than 25 years. She has designed programs and conducted support groups for siblings of children with disabilities and for grandparents rearing grandchildren with disabilities. She is involved in initiatives for families of children with disabilities at the state and national levels and serves as Chair of the Family Consortium for the Division for Early Childhood of the Council for Exceptional Children. She has worked with Georgia (TM)s early intervention program since the mid-1990s. She is the parent of three children, two daughters and a son, ages 22, 20, and 18. Her younger daughter acquired a disability at age 13 months.

Don Meyer, M.Ed., Director, Sibling Support Project, 6512 23rd Avenue NW, Seattle, Washington 98117

Don Meyer is the director of the Sibling Support Project, a Seattle-based national project dedicated to the lifelong concerns of brothers and sisters of people with special health, developmental, and mental health concerns. A sought-after speaker, Don has conducted workshops on sibling issues and trainings on the Sibshop model in all 50 states and in seven countries. He is the editor of The Sibling Slam Book: What It (TM)s Really Like to Have a Brother or Sister with Special Needs (Woodbine House, 2005), Views from Our Shoes: Growing Up with a Brother or Sister with Special Needs (Woodbine House, 1997), and Uncommon Fathers: Reflections on Raising a Child with a Disability (Woodbine House, 1995). With Patricia Vadasy, Mr. Meyer wrote Living with a Brother or Sister with Special Needs (University of Washington Press, 1996). His work has been featured on ABC News and National Public Radio and in Newsweek, The New York Times, and The Washington Post. Don is married to Terry DeLeonardis, a special education preschool teacher and consultant. They have four children.