Empowering parents through Conductive Education Anne Emerson University of Nottingham

Introduction An outsider view The research Findings: empowerment Challenges

holistic What I saw environment education -> expertise resources/ motor skills communication self-care/independence resources/ technology Background as SALT, invited to visit, went several times to develop understanding

What did I want to know: the research Why parents attend? What they gain? What their child gains? What can we learn from them?

Who did I meet? 17 mothers How did they get to this? Resourceful Determined Informed Prepared Optimistic Empowered How did they get to this? Described their distress and anguish, that went on to the point where they started Sfp Moving from stress

Barriers to parental empowerment Emotional reactions to diagnosis Parents (stress) Other family members Community Lack of support Focus on child The breaking of natural relationships Lack of education and training

Is parental stress inevitable? What does research say? Yes to a point – parents cannot change their situation Reduces over time Reduces as child progress occurs Reduces with appropriate support Reduces when parents change the way they perceive the child’s disability

Reducing stress is of key importance Stress impacts: Parental well-being Parent-child relationship Siblings Marital relationships Indicative of less positive parenting Outcomes for children

Negative cycle (pessimists)

Effective components of intervention (research) Emotional support Working collaboratively with professionals Strengthening social supports Safe, interesting environment Positive learning environment Having realistic expectations Taking care of oneself Family adaptation Group work Being part of the community

Facilitator of progress (research) Skilled and expert facilitator who is warm, friendly, empathic, non-judgemental and non-patronising Needs to work in an equal partnership with the parent

How do services best support parents? Parent programmes positive impact on mindset around disability increased confidence and effectiveness in accessing services beneficial changes in family dynamics and more effective community connections reduce a sense of isolation and forge new friendships Central aim of services should be to build parental capacity 28/08/2019 Daly et al. 2015

Education policy - SEND Code of Practice 2015 “Support should be family centred and should consider the individual family’s needs and the best ways to support them.” p.15 “Parents should be fully involved in making decisions about the nature of the help and support that they would like to receive” p.21

Physiotherapy guidelines “The whole process of assessment, goal setting, management and evaluation must be focused on ongoing collaboration with children and their families, other professional groups and service providers.” p.17 The Association of Paediatric Chartered Physiotherapists (2007) Information to guide good practice for physiotherapists working with children. London: The Chartered Society of Physiotherapy

Gap between policy and practice 28/08/2019

Research findings – what made a difference to parents Regular and long-term Enjoyment and fun Development of understanding Group work Learning through observation and doing Direct instruction within trusting relationships 28/08/2019

Research findings – what made a difference to parents Emotional well-being Environment and ethos Seeing children succeed Positivity and building on strengths Social support 28/08/2019

Research findings – what made a difference to parents Impact of learning Skill development and mastery Self-confidence A sense of control Bringing learning home 28/08/2019

Positive cycle (optimists – natural or learned?) Dispositional optimism

Benefits of Conductive Education Learning comes from the opportunity to use skills and knowledge acquired, with the addition of social encouragement. Once something is learned, this tends to lead to a permanent change in behavior Provision needs to feel welcoming, non-judgemental, flexible, gentle and approachable, which suggests the need for a systematic change in service delivery 28/08/2019

How are parents empowered? – my model Personal development Training Learning by doing Education Learning by thinking Feelings and enabling environment Empowerment Personal development occurs gradually – needs long term input Garavan T.N. (1997) Training, development, education and learning: different or the same? Journal of European Industrial Training 21(2): 39-50.

My findings CE provides all essential ingredients to reduce stress and increase Well-being Positivity High expectations for the child Parental resilience Empowerment 28/08/2019

Empowered parents empowered children 28/08/2019

References Association of Paediatric Chartered Physiotherapists (2007) Information to guide good practice for physiotherapists working with children. London: The Chartered Society of Physiotherapy Farber, B., & Kirk, S. A. (1959). Effects of a severely mentally retarded child on family integration. Monographs of the Society for Research in Child Development, 1-112. 28/08/2019