Kathryn Rowan
Speech and Language Therapist (SLT),
Broxtowe and Hucknall PCT
Tel: 0115 9428631
Email: Kathryn.rowan@broxtowehucknall-pct.nhs.uk
Summary:
The aim of the courses is to empower parents and teachers of young children with autism so that they can understand the children and communicate better with them.
The main objective is to provide knowledge and practical skills through training, which can be used in everyday situations at home and in school.
Parent training courses are now one of the main services speech and language therapy provide and have been extremely successful. We are currently developing and improving the courses aimed at teachers.
Abstract:
Intervening early, supporting and enabling parents/carers and partnership working across agencies are all included in recent government documents as desirable outcomes for parents and children.
The courses were established after it became apparent that there weren’t courses available for parents and teachers, which focused specifically on the communication needs of children with autistic spectrum disorder. A course is now offered to parents as soon as possible after diagnosis when the level of need is high.
By providing quality information and teaching specific skills to parents/teachers, we help them to feel confident about managing the children’s’ needs more successfully themselves. Speech and language therapy services are then used in an advisory way to help with problem solving as specific communication issues arise in the future. This allows us to target resources effectively and to respond to needs when they arise.
The changes have been supported in a number of ways.
Initially, Nottingham City LEA and Broxtowe and Hucknall speech and language therapy department made a successful bid to the Standards Fund in order to support this project. Also, the Hanen Centre in Canada, which owns the copyright for the parent courses, gave a licence to pilot the modified version of the course for teachers.
Now, speech and language therapists and colleagues from the LEA jointly deliver the courses, for both parents and teachers.
Great enthusiasm was show by local schools. Ten volunteered themselves as pilot sites for the teachers’ course.
In order to ensure that these courses continued to develop, a steering group was established, with representatives from parents, Education and Health. This group will also assist in the development of services in the future.
The group is responsive to the needs of the parents and teachers who attend the courses and the attendees evaluate each course. This is done via questionnaires, written evaluations and video feedback. These comments have changed what the group delivers and the way we deliver it.
For example parents, teachers and speech and language therapists all identified the need for the teacher courses once the parent courses were underway. Permission was then sought from Hanen to pilot a modified version for teachers.
As a result of the evaluations, the improved outcomes have been shared knowledge and skills for parents and teachers, resulting in better long-term support for the children at home and at school.
All speech and language therapists in the autistic spectrum disorder team are now trained to deliver the parent courses.
As a result of delivering the courses, IES members of staff have developed their communication and presentation skills, as they have to deliver to groups of adults.
Results were measured by asking parents and teachers who attended the courses to evaluate their own learning. The parents and teachers adapt practical strategies suggested in the courses. They are then videoed implementing the strategies at home or school. An impartial speech and language therapist also assessed the teachers on using these skills in the classroom.
Other speech and language therapy departments in the U.K. run similar parent courses, but none in collaboration with colleagues from the LEA.
The course for teachers is a new initiative, which I am working to develop locally and internationally with the Hanen organisation in Canada.
An improvement to the patients’ experience can be seen through the parents’ and teachers’ written and video evaluations. Positive feedback indicated that the courses gave parents and teachers a greater understanding of what makes the child behave in particular ways and equipped them with new skills to use in everyday situations. Support from other parents and professionals soon after diagnosis was also found to be invaluable. Both parents and teachers reported that they felt much better equipped to help the child communicate.
A colleague who speaks Punjabi has helped to deliver one parent course. She will be investigating alternative ways of delivering this type of support for families where the group format is not appropriate due to parents’ cultural and/or language needs.
In order to share and promote the service to other colleagues, presentations have been made to local Health and Education staff. Full written reports and executive summaries are also available and articles have been written and are awaiting publication in national journals.
I have also established a virtual support group, using email, for speech and language therapists in the U.K. who run parent courses.
The parent course is now integrated into the care pathway for children with autistic spectrum disorders in Nottingham and we are investigating how we can modify and integrate the teachers’ course.
This project was made possible by commitment and support from local Education and speech and language therapy services working together. This resulted in securing the necessary extra funding, which allowed the project to happen.
I was also supported by the Hanen Centre Canada, which gave me the licence to carryout the innovative work with teachers. This entailed modifying the existing parent course for teachers. I plan to continue developing this in the future.
This project has directly led to significant changes in the care offered to parents of children with autistic spectrum disorders in order to help them manage their long term needs.
