Using Interactive Multimedia to Teach Parent Advocacy Skills

U SING I NTERACTIVE M ULTIMEDIA TO TEACH P ARENT A DVOCACY S KILLS Ann Glang, PhD Oregon Center for Applied Science, Inc. 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 accessed 63% 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

BRAIN INJURY PARTNERS: NAVIGATING THE SCHOOL SYSTEM

CONTENT DEVELOPMENT Literature on effective advocacy skills Focus groups and interviews with families, educators, professionals Partnership with Brain Injury Assn. of America

ADVOCACY SKILLS 1.Communicating effectively 2.Identifying and summarizing the problem 3.Goal setting and prioritizing 4.Learning to access information and resources 5.Accessing social support

FORMAT Information: text, video testimonials Resources: 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 5-14 Years 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, posttest All assessments completed online Control 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),