A pilot study was designed to provide 11 parents of special education children with the opportunity to share common concerns about their children and to share the feelings that can often be roadblocks to their child's progress. Participants as well as 61 parents of newly identified handicapped children and 51 professionals filled out the Parental Needs Questionnaire. Results showed that professionals' focus on the feelings of parents of handicapped children is often inaccurate. The 10 items wherein the perceived needs were significantly different from the expressed needs involved the feelings of guilt, anger, and fear. The remaining 10 items on which parents and professionals had general agreement reflect feelings of anger, fear, helplessness, and hurt. A ranking of questionnaire items is included. (SB)