Using Interactive Multimedia to Teach Parent Advocacy Skills

USING INTERACTIVE MULTIMEDIA TO TEACH PARENT ADVOCACY

SKILLSAnn Glang, PhDOregon Center for Applied Science, Inc.aglang@orcasinc.com

Funded by National Institute of Child Health and Human Development R44 HD36554

Thinking about dealing

with the school

professionals regarding my

child is very stressful and I

feel very defensive most of

the time but I try very hard

to hide it.

~ Parent

As a parent all I know is

after…an IEP meeting you

have 'jet-lag' no matter

how well the session goes.…

You really are at the mercy

of others.

~Parent

PARENTS PLAY A SIGNIFICANT ROLE

Children whose parents are involved in their education have better school and post-school outcomes

THE PROBLEM

Many educators are unaware of the effects of childhood brain injury

Most parents of children with brain injury are not knowledgeable about the special education system

CHALLENGE

Often parent-professional relationship becomes adversarial • Different expectations• High stress

PARENTS AS ADVOCATES

Breakdown in family-school communication is the most frequent reason for mediation and due process

Parents can learn to use effective advocacy skills (Walker, 1996; Glang, McLaughlin & Schroeder, 2007)

WEB-BASED PARENT TRAINING

Convenient, easily accessed63% of Americans have high speed internet (April 2009,

Pew Research Center)

Studies by Wade et al: demonstrated therapeutic benefits, participant satisfaction of web-based training

BRAIN INJURY PARTNERS: NAVIGATING THE SCHOOL SYSTEM

Internet-based advocacy training program for parents of school-aged children

HTTP://FREE.BRAININJURYPARTNERS.COM

BRAIN INJURY PARTNERS:NAVIGATING THE SCHOOL SYSTEM

CONTENT DEVELOPMENT

Literature on effective advocacy skillsFocus groups and interviews with families,

educators, professionalsPartnership with Brain Injury Assn. of America

ADVOCACY SKILLS

1. Communicating effectively2. Identifying and summarizing the problem3. Goal setting and prioritizing4. Learning to access information and resources5. Accessing social support

FORMAT

Information: text, video testimonialsResources: printable forms, links

FORMAT

Communication tutorial: Focus on behavioral skills, e.g., “listening skills”• Body language• Eye contact• Checking understanding

Use of text, video, interactive application

EVALUATION

Randomized controlled trial with 31 parents of school-aged children

Outcome measures: knowledge, skill application and attitudes regarding advocating for children with TBI

SAMPLE

Parents of children with TBI age 5-14Years post injury: 5.7 (SD = 4.6)83% of children receiving special education services

METHODS

Random assignment to Brain Injury Partners or Project BRAIN CD

Pretest, posttestAll assessments completed onlineControl group given access to program at conclusion

of study

RESULTS

Parents who used the Brain Injury Partners program were more likely to score higher in knowledge of and intent to use effective communication skills at both post-test and 3 month follow-up

There were no significant differences between groups in intent to use use self care techniques or on knowledge of useful tools

Last week we had an IEP

review and I really focused

on my body language. I

think that the

administrators were less

defensive because I did not

take a defensive stance.

~Parent participant

I'm much less rigid

and confrontational

when approaching

problems…

~Parent participant

I am able to find a solution to a teacher's complaint

by linking the problem to the symptoms of my son's

brain injury and offering solutions to both my son

and the teacher based on my historical experience in

what works and what doesn’t... It works!

~Parent participant

FOR MORE INFORMATION

Glang, A., McLaughlin, K., & Schroeder, S. (2007). Interactive multimedia to teach parent advocacy skills: An exploratory study. Journal of Head Trauma Rehabilitation, 22(3), 196-203.