Highlights from the Helping Families Change Conference Grace Harris, MFT February 16, 2016

Matt Sanders It is a community’s responsibility to value and support the importance of raising children. Self-regulation applies to parents, children, practitioners, agencies. Triple P is a trauma sensitive intervention – “The most important thing in dealing with trauma is that it ceases”

Aspects of Positive Parenting In addition to the 5 core principles: – Supporting children’s relationship with peers – Balancing work and family responsibility (transitions) – Effective communication with teachers – Maintaining a positive relationship with extended family – Being part of a community.

What Drives Change in Parents Cognitive Change – attributions, expectations, knowledge, self-efficacy Behavioral Change – praise, incidental teaching Affective Change – control of emotions, increase positive affection Contextual Changes – support in different environments

Parent Engagement Normalize Participation – peer to peer, social contagion. Target normative transitions – to childcare, school transitions. Increase consumer engagement – focus groups, incentives. Keep things really simple, practical and friendly.

Improving Retention Most people drop out for reasons not due to the parenting program. Need to re-engage, welcome them to come back. Aggressive follow-up. Improve teamwork. Enhance social connectedness. Reinforce early success. Emotionally connect to valued outcomes.

Triple P and Conduct Disorders Robert McMahon Non-compliance is the keystone behavior and it appears early. Parent gives a command, child does not comply, parent may give up or escalate until child complies – builds a system where both eventually escalate.

ADHD Charlotte Johnston Significant genetic and/or epigenetic influence for ADHD. ADHD predicts parenting difficulties – children are impulsive and disorganized. Parenting difficulties can lead to comorbidity of ODD or CD especially in highly challenged families.

Interventions Parenting programs are an effective intervention. However, the effect may not carry over to schools and may also have to intervene in that environment. Both group and individual programs are a good return on investment, however in socially disadvantaged families individual support is more effective than group.

Interventions Children who have callous “traits” and unemotional features may not respond as well. There is a stronger need to teach parents how to promote warmth and reinforce discipline strategies. Teach motional engagement – for example reciprocal eye contact.

Interventions Families may need more engagement and check- ups. Think of phone calls, brief daily check ins and text messages. Parents should have some ideas about developmental path and that older children may need more components added.

Parent Education and ADHD Can improve some child disruptive behaviors Can help parents predict child behaviors Can help parent make less blaming of child and thus will be less negative towards child.

PARENTS WITH ADHD 50% of adults with ADHD have children. 50% of children with ADHD have one parent with ADHD. Parents with ADHD have more empathy for children than parents without. Parents may be more inconsistent due to inattention and there may be poor monitoring and poor problem solving.

REMEMBER It’s hard for parents to live with these kids 24 hours a day, 7 days a week.