For therapy to be maximally effective, therapists need to work together as a team. That means talking to each other regularly to exchange notes on the child's progress, and reinforcing each other's work as much as possible by working on the same milestones at the same time. This kind of teamwork doesn't usually happen naturally. It happens because parents push to make it happen by assertively taking on the role of team leader.

For many parents it may seem awkward at first to be the team's leader. After all, the therapists are the professionals. But no one is better qualified for this job than the parents who live with their child 24 hours a day. Parents see their child's reactions to therapy as well as to other experiences. They can provide feedback about their child's progress and well-being that is vital to the therapists' job. Parents and therapists are partners in helping the child. Therapists are experts in their individual fields of specialization; parents are the experts about their child.

In addition to being assertive about integrating the work of the therapists, parents must be assertive about how they and the therapists should work together. Parents should ask for the kind of feedback they want.

They need to tell therapists what is helpful and what isn't. Many therapists balance reports of progress with a note of "realism": "Johnny is doing very well; he's saying three words, but he still has a long way to go." Most parents would do just fine without the addendum. What parents need from therapists are strategies to master challenges. A sense of positive teamwork can make the march of therapy easier.