Parents and Professionals Working Together "S.U.C.C.E.S.S.Fully"

Participants will hear (both in person and via video) from professionals, parents and administrators regarding successful parent/professional relationships, as well as how they have experienced barriers to effective collaboration. Participants will be given specific, concrete strategies to facilitate successful collaboration, as well as to overcome common barriers to the collaborative process. Included will be a brief overview of The S.U.C.C.E.S.S. Approach(SM) – an innovative model that provides a unique framework in which effective collaboration can thrive. Research indicates that family involvement is one of the core elements of effective educational practices (Yell, Drasgow, Lowery 2005) and leads to a multitude of positive outcomes, including greater generalization and maintenance of treatment gains and improved levels of parent satisfaction (Spann, Kohler and Soenksen 2003).  This session is designed for all audiences caring for individuals on the autism spectrum who wish to hear first-hand information about best-practice in the area of family-team collaboration from those who have applied it.

This panel presentation will be mediated by Occupational Therapist Ellen Winney, Assistant Director at Integrations Treatment Center and host of Awetism Productions’ new show, Connect with S.U.C.C.E.S.S.

The team panel discussion will open with the maternal perspective of Debbie Heintz, mother of 9 year old Julia, diagnosed with cerebral palsy, and 3 year old Donovan, diagnosed with autism. Mrs. Heintz will share her story of the challenges her family has faced in advocating for her children’s diverse needs and the successful strategies she and her husband adopted over the past decade to facilitate effective and meaningful collaboration that is allowing her children to thrive in their current environments.

Following this testimony, the professional team, consisting of occupational therapy and speech language pathology professionals, will share an overview of the components necessary for effective collaboration for children with autism.  These components include parent participation in/observation of the treatment session or classroom, the use of a concrete and consistent mode of communication, utilization of technology, direct parent training, and fostering collaborative attitudes.  Included will be explanation of each strategy and specific examples of how they are best implemented. 

The panel will also discuss some of the common barriers in the collaborative process (e.g.,logistical, environmental, and cultural barriers, etc.) and describe ways to resolve/minimize these barriers.

Interspersed throughout the panel discussion will be video clips of other mothers, fathers, and team professionals giving specific, concrete examples of how they have used the collaboration strategies, and how they have overcome barriers so that the children they care for could thrive.

In addition, there will be opportunity for questions and answers, as well as a venue for audience participants to share additional collaborative strategies they have found effective.

Finally, a very brief overview of The S.U.C.C.E.S.S. Approach ^SM model will be introduced as an example of a framework in which successful collaboration thrives.  This will include an explanation of the terms and definitions embedded in its acronym, a definition of transdisciplinary care, and a listing of the 7 theories that comprise The S.U.C.C.E.S.S. Approach ^SM.

The learning objectives are as follows:

 

1. Participants will understand common barriers to effective collaboration and how to identify them.
2. Participants will be able to identify at least 4 strategies to facilitate effective parent/professional collaboration.
3. Participants will have a basic understanding of  what The S.U.C.C.E.S.S. Approach ^SM  is and how it can be a framework for effective parent/professional collaboration.