About a three years ago, I started providing 0-3 speech therapy services through our state's Early Intervention program. It was definitely a big shift for me, as the focus is on empowering and educating parents. This is done through "parent coaching." Over the last few years, I have done some continuing education on this topic and pushed myself to implement some of these strategies. I have listed my top tips for parent coaching below!
1.) Ask about progress/needs at the beginning of session - doing this check in early in the session gives you time to brainstorm ideas and model strategies with the parents. If you wait until the end, you may not have time to adequately address their concerns, meaning they go another week without help! Of course, this will require you to think on the fly and possibly change your therapy plans, but it is so worth it.
2.) Repeat your advice multiple times, in multiple ways - Remember that you have had lots of experience with this and they have not. They will need education with multiple repetitions and multiple modalities. Explain it to them, show them what you need them to do, follow up to check understanding, and give them a resource to refer to if possible.
3.) Be direct & have the hard conversations – most parents will appreciate your honesty, even if they don't in the moment. However you may have to read the room a bit as some parents just aren't ready to hear what you have to say. But it is our job to bring these issues up, as we are doing the patient a disservice if we don’t. Remember that we can not diagnose things like Autism, so if a parent brings this up, encourage a referral to a developmental pediatrician.
4.) Speaking of referrals, make the Referral - when you see the child struggling with something that is outside your area of expertise, make sure to refer to the appropriate resources - occupational therapy, physical therapy, developmental therapy, socio-emotional consultants, etc. And the sooner, the better. I'd rather over-refer than have a child go without a therapy that could help them!
5.) Keep in mind budget restrictions - I work in a low income area so families often don’t have the extra money to buy the cool toy or gadget that their kid is really loving. If you have the resources available, you may want to consider some sort of materials lending library. However you must be prepared that you might not get the item back. A better solution may be to show families how they could use the things that they already have whether they are toys or not.
6.) Think about siblings - If you are going into the home, a sibling may be around. It might be hard for the parent to participate in therapy and keep an eye on the other children in the house. If you could incorporate those children into the therapy this alleviate some of the pressure on the parents. Bonus points if you could use the sibling as a motivator or as a model for your patient.
7.) Know what preschool options are available in their district - Some families have no idea what resources will be available to their child once they turn three. Try to reach out to the local school districts to get this information so you can answer their questions. Ask about things like special education availability, therapy services provided within the school setting, class sizes, transportation, half day versus whole day preschool, potty training requirements, etc. Some parents may feel like their children are not ready; however, preschool could be a great opportunity for their children to develop these language skills. Don’t assume that just because the family has an older child that they know what resources are available. If their older child was typically developing they may not know about the special education services available.
8.) Be honest - If you don't know something, say you don't know. BUT, make sure you follow up and try to find the answers for the family. They will appreciate your honesty and thoroughness. It may be tempting to "take a guess" at the best answer. However, if that doesn't work or isn't right, the parent will have a hard time trusting you in the future.
I'm far from an expert in parent coaching, but these strategies have worked the best for me and my patients. I hope this can help some other new Early Intervention Providers out there! Thanks for stopping by!
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