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

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lived <strong>in</strong> the same county, the county encompassed 3600 square miles with driv<strong>in</strong>g distances between families rang<strong>in</strong>g up to 60 miles. Given the time constra<strong>in</strong>ts for both teacher-c<strong>and</strong>idate graduate students <strong>and</strong> children with autism, geography was an important variable when establish<strong>in</strong>g “matches.” “Goodness of fit” between teacher-c<strong>and</strong>idate graduate students <strong>and</strong> families. F<strong>in</strong>ally, it was challeng<strong>in</strong>g to anticipate the “goodness of fit” with regard to personal characteristics dur<strong>in</strong>g the match<strong>in</strong>g process. Over the course of the program, some teacher-c<strong>and</strong>idate graduate students seemed more <strong>in</strong>terested <strong>and</strong>/or more able to function as cl<strong>in</strong>icians <strong>and</strong> <strong>in</strong>teract with children with autism <strong>and</strong> their families than others. Although <strong>in</strong>itially no data were taken on this phenomenon, many teacher-c<strong>and</strong>idate graduate students described feel<strong>in</strong>g “nervous” or “anxious” <strong>in</strong> the <strong>in</strong>itial stages of <strong>in</strong>teract<strong>in</strong>g with families <strong>and</strong> provid<strong>in</strong>g generic support for children with autism. For their part, some participat<strong>in</strong>g families also reported some concern over the students’ ability to provide support for their child <strong>in</strong> the home. Over the course of the year, as they became more knowledgeable <strong>in</strong> the areas of family systems theory, PBS, <strong>and</strong> PRT, the students’ sense of nervousness dissipated <strong>and</strong> families reported more confidence <strong>in</strong> the students’ abilities. In many cases the teacher-c<strong>and</strong>idate graduate students <strong>and</strong> families developed friendships <strong>and</strong> have rema<strong>in</strong>ed <strong>in</strong> contact years after they completed their program. In a few cases, discomfort cont<strong>in</strong>ued on the part of the student or family <strong>and</strong> required additional <strong>in</strong>volvement by faculty members (see below). Logistical Solutions <strong>in</strong> Match<strong>in</strong>g Teacher- C<strong>and</strong>idate Graduate Students with Families Logistical difficulties were <strong>in</strong>itially addressed on a case by case basis. There were, however, enough commonalities to eventually result <strong>in</strong> programmatic changes important to consider when implement<strong>in</strong>g a program of this nature. These are detailed below. Time. With regard to the students’ limited time, <strong>in</strong> cases where children with autism had no free period of time between the hours of 2 <strong>and</strong> 3:30 p.m. dur<strong>in</strong>g the week, teacher-c<strong>and</strong>idate graduate students provided support on Saturdays. In other <strong>in</strong>stances, faculty members 350 / <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 “pushed back” the start time for particular courses from 4:10 to 4:30 or 4:45 to accommodate student <strong>and</strong> family schedules. After the second year of the program, faculty moved the start time for university coursework back one hour from 4:10 p.m. to 5:10. Geography. In terms of the geographic distance that separated teacher-c<strong>and</strong>idate graduate students from families with children who had autism, faculty began by plac<strong>in</strong>g students who lived or worked <strong>in</strong> communities farthest from the university with families who also lived <strong>in</strong> those same, more geographically distant communities. Then, once the logistically difficult matches were made, faculty placed the rema<strong>in</strong>der of the teacher-c<strong>and</strong>idate graduate students who lived closest to campus. “Goodness of fit” between teacher-c<strong>and</strong>idate graduate students <strong>and</strong> families. With all families parental preferences (e.g., preference for a particular sex or level of experience) were taken <strong>in</strong>to account when matches were made. In an effort to <strong>in</strong>crease “goodness of fit” between family/child <strong>and</strong> teacher-c<strong>and</strong>idate graduate students, faculty <strong>in</strong>creased their contact with families to more closely monitor family-graduate student <strong>in</strong>teractions. This <strong>in</strong>cluded regular contact made <strong>in</strong> person, via telephone or via e-mail. In addition, after the second year of the program, <strong>in</strong>stead of match<strong>in</strong>g one graduate student with one family, two graduate students were paired <strong>and</strong> then each pair was assigned to a family. This solution simplified match<strong>in</strong>g <strong>and</strong> facilitated “goodness of fit.” Match<strong>in</strong>g pairs of teacher-c<strong>and</strong>idate graduate students with a family helped lessen student anxiety. Even after these adaptations, however, problems persisted. For example, one family dur<strong>in</strong>g the program’s three-year history asked that a teacher-c<strong>and</strong>idate graduate student not return to their home to provide services. Although these <strong>in</strong>stances of poor matches are very <strong>in</strong>frequent, they create substantial difficulty <strong>and</strong> unneeded stress for families. In an effort to identify students who may need extra support <strong>in</strong> order to function successfully <strong>in</strong> provid<strong>in</strong>g cl<strong>in</strong>ical support to children with autism faculty plan to implement an additional strategy. Faculty will create early opportunities <strong>in</strong> school sett<strong>in</strong>gs to observe teacher-c<strong>and</strong>idate graduate students work<strong>in</strong>g with small groups of children, <strong>and</strong> where, possible, chil-
dren with autism. If, through these observations <strong>and</strong> subsequent conversations with teacher-c<strong>and</strong>idate graduate students, faculty members determ<strong>in</strong>e that “h<strong>and</strong>s-on” work with families <strong>and</strong> children may not be appropriate for particular teacher-c<strong>and</strong>idate graduate students, those graduate student will be given the opportunity to support families of children with autism <strong>in</strong> other important ways such as organiz<strong>in</strong>g <strong>and</strong> conduct<strong>in</strong>g sibl<strong>in</strong>g support groups. Children <strong>and</strong> Families Time availability <strong>and</strong> family satisfaction arose as areas that needed to be addressed for the families with children with autism. Time. Time availability was also a constra<strong>in</strong><strong>in</strong>g factor for families <strong>and</strong> children. Lack of available time was addressed on a case-by-case basis but, <strong>in</strong> cases where family schedules were too full, participation was not possible. Family satisfaction. The second issue that arose <strong>in</strong>volved family satisfaction. That is, families differed <strong>in</strong> their level of satisfaction. Dissatisfaction with the tra<strong>in</strong><strong>in</strong>g program, although <strong>in</strong>frequent, sometimes resulted <strong>in</strong> a family exit<strong>in</strong>g the program. As the “research university” was one of many providers of service, families were able to switch from one provider to another. Reasons for switch<strong>in</strong>g to another service provider <strong>in</strong>cluded lack of satisfactory progress toward designated goals, desire for more hours of support than could be provided, <strong>and</strong> differences <strong>in</strong> philosophy regard<strong>in</strong>g behavioral <strong>in</strong>tervention. In one case, for example, the family was unable to participate at home as <strong>in</strong>tervention agents. As parents are viewed as an <strong>in</strong>tegral part of their child’s program <strong>and</strong> as primary <strong>in</strong>tervention agents <strong>in</strong> the PRT model (Koegel et al., 2006), this served as a cause for the parents to change service providers. In an effort to address the family satisfaction, faculty members will beg<strong>in</strong> adm<strong>in</strong>ister<strong>in</strong>g The Family Partnership <strong>and</strong> Quality of Life Survey (Beach Center on Disability, University of Kansas, 2003) to participat<strong>in</strong>g families. This survey will be adm<strong>in</strong>istered each year at the onset of the program <strong>and</strong> aga<strong>in</strong> as the academic year comes to a close. The purpose of the Family Quality of Life Scale will be to measure if, as a result of the autism support services provided, a family’s quality of life had improved. Families are asked questions about a) the services they receive or need, b) how families feel about the ma<strong>in</strong> person who works with them <strong>and</strong> their child. c) th<strong>in</strong>gs that make life together as a family good, <strong>and</strong> d) <strong>in</strong>formation about the families <strong>in</strong> general. Based on the results of the Family Quality of Life Scale, faculty members will review both what services are provided, who is provid<strong>in</strong>g them, <strong>and</strong> how they are provided. <strong>and</strong> make adjustments as necessary <strong>in</strong> order to better meet family needs. For example, if a family marked “receives behavioral support but not enough”, the number of hours of behavioral support could be <strong>in</strong>creased. Unresolved Issues <strong>and</strong> Recommendations Unresolved issues fall <strong>in</strong>to two categories: a) university issues <strong>and</strong> b) state agency disability fund<strong>in</strong>g issues. University issues. University issues were largely the result of the small nature of the special education program at the “teacher prep university”. Small programs by def<strong>in</strong>ition mean that more responsibilities fall on fewer people. In the case of this program, with only two tenure track faculty members, the program’s very existence was completely dependent on the extra time the two faculty members were will<strong>in</strong>g to devote. In addition, s<strong>in</strong>ce the adjunct faculty member provid<strong>in</strong>g supervision for the children’s programs was based at the “research university” (located 100 plus miles away from the participat<strong>in</strong>g families), it was difficult to ma<strong>in</strong>ta<strong>in</strong> ideal levels of supervision <strong>and</strong> contact with the families. University recommendation. A third tenure track faculty member at the “teacher prep university” with expertise <strong>in</strong> autism would help ensure the <strong>in</strong>stitutionalization of this program. State agency issues. As the state agency authorized <strong>and</strong> paid providers, such as the autism center at the “research university,” to provide services to families with children who have disabilities, their participation was essential for the tra<strong>in</strong><strong>in</strong>g program’s existence. Challenges presented <strong>in</strong> work<strong>in</strong>g with this agency <strong>in</strong>cluded: 1) their schedule of meet<strong>in</strong>gs <strong>and</strong> 2) their vendor reimbursement rate. Learn by Do<strong>in</strong>g / 351
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Education
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Education
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Education
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