A family systems perspective for working with youth with disability.

In this paper, a family systems approach is advocated as an optimal model for managing the health care of youth with disabilities. The impact of the youth's disability on family functioning and, reciprocally, the impact of the family system on the course of the disability and the youth's development are reviewed. These two effects are viewed as mutually causal and thus call for a nonlinear approach to treatment--one where both adolescent and family outcomes are simultaneously considered. The implications for pediatric practice of adopting a family system perspective in working with youth with disability is emphasized.