Education and Training in Developmental Disabilities - Division on ...

was very important to complet<strong>in</strong>g the FAP.
The parents <strong>in</strong>dicated the FAPs would be difficult
(if not impossible) to create without
technical assistance <strong>and</strong> support. Although
parents were not overwhelmed by the technology,
only one parent reported that she had
created an edited movie prior to the project.
Therefore, parents were <strong>in</strong> agreement that
hav<strong>in</strong>g someone who knew how to work with
the technology was critically important to creat<strong>in</strong>g
quality multimedia products.
Parents enjoyed the personal freedom to
make decisions about the content of the FAP.
Overall, they were satisfied <strong>and</strong> positive about
the procedures used to develop FAPs. However,
they did provide some constructive suggestions
for changes <strong>in</strong> the procedures. Suggestions
<strong>in</strong>cluded giv<strong>in</strong>g parents more specific
guidel<strong>in</strong>es <strong>and</strong> written <strong>in</strong>structions on what
type of <strong>in</strong>formation to <strong>in</strong>clude when record<strong>in</strong>g
video. Also, written <strong>in</strong>structions on specific
technical aspects of the process (e.g., how
to record the voice <strong>in</strong>put for the DVD) would
have been helpful. In addition, parents mentioned
the need for support when updat<strong>in</strong>g
<strong>in</strong>formation <strong>in</strong> the FAP <strong>in</strong> the future, as the
child grows <strong>and</strong> changes. With young children,
certa<strong>in</strong> <strong>in</strong>formation <strong>in</strong> the FAP becomes
outdated <strong>in</strong> a relatively short period of time.
When asked about the social validity of the
outcome, parents were very positive <strong>and</strong> satisfied
with the three components of the FAP
(i.e., scrapbook, DVD, <strong>and</strong> webpage). The
book was portable <strong>and</strong> <strong>in</strong>cluded essential <strong>in</strong>formation,
the movie was novel <strong>and</strong> showed
children as they were <strong>in</strong> their natural environments,
<strong>and</strong> the webpage was someth<strong>in</strong>g that
could be updated most easily <strong>and</strong> therefore
has the potential to provide the most current
<strong>in</strong>formation. Accord<strong>in</strong>g to the parents, FAPs
provide different types of <strong>in</strong>formation than
the st<strong>and</strong>ardized assessments typically used <strong>in</strong>
special education. When FAPs are used <strong>in</strong> conjunction
with traditional assessment <strong>in</strong>formation,
a more holistic view of the child is presented.
Parents reported us<strong>in</strong>g the FAP with
IEP teams <strong>and</strong> meet<strong>in</strong>gs with new therapists or
care providers (e.g., respite workers). Parents
reported that reactions from people who
viewed FAPs have been overwhelm<strong>in</strong>g positive.
In addition, after shar<strong>in</strong>g FAPs parents
felt empowered <strong>and</strong> respected by educators
because the FAP revealed how knowledgeable
426 / <strong>Education</strong> <strong>and</strong> <strong>Tra<strong>in</strong><strong>in</strong>g</strong> <strong>in</strong> <strong>Developmental</strong> <strong>Disabilities</strong>-September 2009
they were about their child <strong>and</strong> how <strong>in</strong>vested
they were <strong>in</strong> their child’s education. Parents
also mentioned that they have shared the
FAPs with many others outside the educational
system to communicate <strong>in</strong>formation
about their child, <strong>in</strong>clud<strong>in</strong>g sibl<strong>in</strong>gs, extended
family members, babysitters, respite workers,
friends, other families who have children with
similar disabilities, <strong>and</strong> members of their religious
communities.
A few parents had concerns related to the
use of the FAPs. One parent mentioned that
there was not enough time to view the DVD
dur<strong>in</strong>g a meet<strong>in</strong>g with teachers <strong>and</strong> FAPs were
better shared before a meet<strong>in</strong>g as opposed to
at a meet<strong>in</strong>g. In addition, a few parents mentioned
that they are not sure if/how the teachers
utilized the <strong>in</strong>formation from the FAP to
guide their teach<strong>in</strong>g (“if the teachers don’t
use it, there is no po<strong>in</strong>t for us to do it.” “They
might use it, but I don’t know about it”).
Parents suggested hav<strong>in</strong>g a follow-up meet<strong>in</strong>g
with teachers/therapists to answer any questions
they have about their child <strong>and</strong> FAP <strong>and</strong>
to f<strong>in</strong>d out how the teachers/therapist use the
<strong>in</strong>formation.
Parent questionnaires. F<strong>in</strong>d<strong>in</strong>gs from parent
questionnaires (Tables 2 <strong>and</strong> 3) corroborate
the f<strong>in</strong>d<strong>in</strong>gs from the <strong>in</strong>terviews. All parents
<strong>in</strong>dicated <strong>in</strong> the questionnaires that they
agree that the FAP is an important tool for
families of children with disabilities <strong>and</strong> that
the FAP is needed <strong>in</strong> the field of special education.
Parents also agreed that the FAPs enhance
positive home-school communication
<strong>and</strong> help communicate <strong>in</strong>formation about
their child. When asked about the procedures
used to develop the FAP, all parents <strong>in</strong>dicated
that they were satisfied with the process of
develop<strong>in</strong>g the FAPs, but two parents felt that
develop<strong>in</strong>g the FAP was time consum<strong>in</strong>g <strong>and</strong>
required a lot of effort. Seven of the parents
felt that to develop a good FAP, parents
needed access to technical assistance.
Similar to the <strong>in</strong>terview data, all parents
<strong>in</strong>dicated <strong>in</strong> the questionnaires that they were
satisfied with the f<strong>in</strong>al product of the FAP <strong>and</strong>
felt that the FAP is an effective tool that will
<strong>in</strong>fluence the services <strong>and</strong> <strong>in</strong>tervention a child
will receive. The only outlier to this f<strong>in</strong>d<strong>in</strong>g
was <strong>in</strong> regard to the follow<strong>in</strong>g negatively
worded item: “It is unlikely that the FAP will
<strong>in</strong>fluence special education services <strong>and</strong> <strong>in</strong>ter-