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Promising Practices in Children’s Mental Health Systems of Care - 1998 Series participate in the class. She thinks it would be great to expand the practice of family members presenting their experiences into the business courses – especially since they have to comply with the Americans with Disabilities Act. Jackie Ackley, the Wings Parent Advocate in Machais, is pleased with the relationship as well. “It gives me connections and credibility with teachers in the community who are enrolled in the class and it provides an opportunity for students (prospective teachers) to understand the many challenges special families face on a daily bases. It is, at this time, the only forum for future teachers to gain that understanding and empathy.” She mentioned that many parents are taking classes at the university and they use this opportunity to speak up and share their life experiences also. 25 Lardieri described the impact involving families has had on her as a university teacher. “It helps me stay focused. I recall my dissertation research and remember families I visited. With 30 students [in a regular education class] it is easy to get into an adversarial position [with families]. I recall my knowledge base being able to proactively problem solve and work collaboratively and constructively. In my university teaching, I try to listen to what parents are saying. I help my students focus and process what parents tell us.” Lardieri continually seeks our practical experiences to attach to the course. One idea she has already implemented is a requirement that students prepare a detailed notebook in which they organize a wide variety of information about disabilities, services in the community, training opportunities, laws and mandates, critical issues and other items of importance to systems of care. As follow-up to the class with a guest parent, students complete a survey asking about their what they experienced as they listened to the parent’s presentation. Families Speak To Graduate Social Work Students On the campus of the University of Maine at Orono, parents are also sharing their experiences. For the past three years, Gail Weerbach, Associate Professor at the School of Social Work, invites parents from Wings to share their stories with her graduate level students every semester. Weerbach attended a Portland State University Building on Family Strengths conference in 1992. It was at this conference that Weerbach heard families speak about the challenges of raising children with serious emotional disturbances, getting the system to respect them, and the kinds of 72 25 Interview, May 1, 1998. Volume I: New Roles for Families
Promising Practices in Children’s Mental Health Systems of Care - 1998 Series system changes needed for providers to work with parents as partners. This was a key experience for Weerbach because it provoked her to do a good self examination. “I could look back over my career and realize things I had done in my work with parents that were not family friendly. This was an enlightening experience for me.” 26 After this experience, Weerbach invited parents from Wings to visit her classes. She asked them to respond to just one question. “What do students need to know about working with parents before they enter the workforce?” Weerbach noted how the students are always impressed by the strength the parent still has in spite of the long term challenge of caring for a child with special needs. Weerbach explained that she no longer schedules anything after the parents leave the class. “The students experience the same type of thing I experienced in Portland. I have to help them process what they have just heard. I use [the students’ own] comments to show them the stereotypical attitudes they have already ‘bought into’ about parents. I want the students to be able to say the same things to parents that they say when the parents leave the class.” Family Advocates who guest lecture in universities are sometimes not quite sure what kind of an impact they have. Nevertheless, they all value the opportunity to be able to speak to these students and have seen some positive effects in the community at a later time. One parent shared an experience about needing crisis intervention services from a local agency. The person assigned to help her family remembered her from speaking in a class at the University of Maine at Orono. The intervention went smoothly and the worker collaborated very well with the parent as a partner. She felt her guest lecture was validated by this experience. Chris Parsons, currently a case manager for Wings, was a former student at the University of Maine at Orono. He recalled that hearing parents present in the class about the system of care changed his career choice. He was originally interested in policy work at the state level, but decided that the work he could do at Wings was an ideal combination where the latest and best policy was being put to practice. The Wings Parent Advocate Specialists are working with both universities to expand the parent involvement in classes to more departments. Discussions include how to involve more parents in meaningful ways in the classroom, and how to offer a stipend or other fair compensation for their effort. 26 Interview April 30, 1998. Volume I: New Roles for Families 73
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Comprehensive Community Mental Heal
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Table of Contents Promising Practic
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Foreword Promising Practices in Chi
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Acknowledgments Promising Practices
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Executive Summary Promising Practic
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certification, licensure, or a coll
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