Building Relationships with Family Friendly Materials Kat Cripe Florida State University

Something to Remember…  There is no wrong way to make materials - Just some ways that make them more friendly  Materials design is personal preference  It is important to remember families have preferences too

Diversity is Everything  Consumers of EI services are many and varied  No single brochure or format will be appealing or effective for everyone  Need to consider literacy and language levels  Need for varied formats and repetition of key concepts  Need to target various audiences (e.g. dad, parents of children with autism)

How Do Materials Welcome Your Families?  Is the purpose easily and clearly identified?  Are they easy to read?  Do they provide examples that families can relate to?  Do they enhance the family’s and child’s strengths?

How Do Materials Engage Families?  Clipart and pictures  Participation opportunities  Match immediate interests or concerns  Connect to others

Clean and Easy  Bullets are our friends  Break up text and keep the reader reading  Tables Talk  Can make a lot of text bearable  Count your words  Less is more and jargon free  Consistency is Key  Don’t rock my boat

On Brevity It has often been said there’s so much to be read, you never can cram all those words in your head. So the writer who breeds more words than he needs is making a chore for the reader who reads. That’s why my belief is the briefer the brief is, the greater the sigh of the readers relief is. - Seuss-isms