Engaging Parents as Partners: An Interview with Dr. Jean Blosser
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Episode Summary
Caregivers are “the thread of continuity” for our clients and students - that steady rock that supports a communicator throughout a lifetime. Caregivers are also juggling a lot, (as are professionals), and it can be difficult to muster the energy, creativity, and time to give home programming the attention it deserves. In this week’s episode, the Nerdcast crew, along with special guest, Dr. Jean Blosser, tackle the how and why of supporting caregivers as communication partners using evidenced-based (and visually supportive) home programming-even when dinner is on fire!
Dr. Jean Blosser is a seasoned speech-language pathologist and ASHA fellow who has dedicated her career to supporting children in the school setting. Her most recent professional endeavors have led her to focus passionately on supporting teachers and parents in their roles as communication partners. For those of you not practicing in the field of pediatrics, this episode will offer some great strategies that transcend age and practice setting, such as considering the needs of the adult learner in addition to the client to assure home programming is clear, effective, and do-able. You seasoned partner coaches out there might be thinking “yeah yeah, caregiver training, I already do that.” You’ll find some great discussion and take-aways nonetheless, as this animated group of ladies hash out coaching barriers like time constraints and funding limitations, and muse on the importance of making learning salient and visual for partners, just as we do for our clients.
Listen in and learn about the research rationale behind caregiver training and scoop up some simple tools and strategies you can employ tomorrow to beef up your home programming mojo. Speaking of beef and mojo, you might want to order in tonight. We wouldn’t want you to burn dinner while you are entranced in this nerdy SLP goodness of this episode! You can learn more about Dr. Blosser here.
Summary Written by Tanna Neufeld, MS, CCC-SLP, Contributing Editor
Learning Outcomes
State 3 reasons for engaging parents as partners
Describe 3 teaching tools to improve home program development for parents
Describe two benefits of sharing visual supports with parents
References
Brown, J. A. (2016). Coaching in Parent-Implemented Early Communication Interventions: Understanding and Overcoming Individual-Level Implementation Barriers. Perspectives of the ASHA Special Interest Groups, 1(1), 144-153. doi:10.1044/persp1.sig1.144
Pennington, L., Thomson, K., James, P., Martin, L., & Mcnally, R. (2009). Effects of It Takes Two to Talk—The Hanen Program for Parents of Preschool Children With Cerebral Palsy: Findings From an Exploratory Study. Journal of Speech, Language, and Hearing Research, 52(5), 1121-1138. doi:10.1044/1092-4388(2009/07-0187)
Roberts, M. Y., & Kaiser, A. P. (2011). The Effectiveness of Parent-Implemented Language Interventions: A Meta-Analysis. American Journal of Speech-Language Pathology, 20(3), 180-199. doi:10.1044/1058-0360(2011/10-0055)
Roberts, M. Y., & Kaiser, A. P. (2012). Assessing the Effects of a Parent-Implemented Language Intervention for Children With Language Impairments Using Empirical Benchmarks: A Pilot Study. Journal of Speech, Language, and Hearing Research, 55(6), 1655-1670. doi:10.1044/1092-4388(2012/11-0236)
Roberts, M. Y., Kaiser, A. P., Wolfe, C. E., Bryant, J. D., & Spidalieri, A. M. (2014). Effects of the Teach-Model-Coach-Review Instructional Approach on Caregiver Use of Language Support Strategies and Children's Expressive Language Skills. Journal of Speech, Language, and Hearing Research, 57(5), 1851-1869. doi:10.1044/2014_jslhr-l-13-0113
Thiessen, A., & Beukelman, D. (2013). Training Communication Partners of Adults Who Rely on AAC: Co-Construction of Meaning. Perspectives on Augmentative and Alternative Communication, 22(1), 16-20. doi:10.1044/aac22.1.16
Weitzman, E. (2013). More Than Words—The Hanen Program for Parents of Children with Autism Spectrum Disorder: A Teaching Model for Parent-implemented Language Intervention. Perspectives on Language Learning and Education,20(3), 96-111. doi:10.1044/lle20.3.86
Disclosures:
Kate Grandbois financial disclosures: Kate is the owner / founder of Grandbois Therapy + Consulting, LLC and co-founder of SLP Nerdcast. Kate Grandbois non-financial disclosures: Kate is a member of ASHA, SIG 12, and serves on the AAC Advisory Group for Massachusetts Advocates for Children. She is also a member of the Berkshire Association for Behavior Analysis and Therapy (BABAT), MassABA, the Association for Behavior Analysis International (ABAI) and the corresponding Speech Pathology and Applied Behavior Analysis SIG.
Amy Wonkka financial disclosures: Amy is an employee of a public school system and co-founder of SLP Nerdcast. Amy Wonkka non-financial disclosures: Amy is a member of ASHA, SIG 12, and serves on the AAC Advisory Group for Massachusetts Advocates for Children.
Jean Blosser Financial: President, Creative Strategies for Special Education, She receives compensation for consulting and conducting professional development workshops and in-services. She is the author and receives royalties from sales of the Lets Talk Today Calendar. She also receives royalties from sales of authored books. Jean has no non-financial relationships to disclose
Time Ordered Agenda:
10 minutes: Introduction, Disclaimers and Disclosures
20 minutes: Review of reasons for engaging parents as partners.
15 minutes: Review of teaching tools to improve home program development for parents
10 minutes: Review of benefits of sharing visual supports with parents
5 minutes: Summary and Closing
Disclaimer
The contents of this episode are not meant to replace clinical advice. SLP Nerdcast, its hosts and guests do not represent or endorse specific products or procedures mentioned during our episodes unless otherwise stated. We are NOT PhDs, but we do research our material. We do our best to provide a thorough review and fair representation of each topic that we tackle. That being said, it is always likely that there is an article we’ve missed, or another perspective that isn’t shared. If you have something to add to the conversation, please email us! Wed love to hear from you!
This course is offered for .1 ASHA CEU (Introductory Level, Related Area)
Editors: Tanna Neufeld, MS, CCC-SLP, Ashley Sturgis, MA, CCC-SLP, Caitlin Akier, MS, CCC-SLP