Parent-professional power relations: parent and professional perspectives.

This article was based on a unique research project around a Conductive Education Centre set up by parents to provide alternative education and services for young disabled people. It addresses the tensions between Local Authority services and voluntary provision. The research and subsequent report were instrumental in developing communication and partnership between professional service providers in the Local Authority context and the Conductive Education Centre. The paper contextualises the issues within the broader professional policy, practice and provision framework and has been drawn on in the wider arenas of current development of parental involvement and partnership in service provision.