Using Interactive Multimedia to
Teach Parent Advocacy Skills
USING INTERACTIVE MULTIMEDIA TO
TEACH PARENT ADVOCACY SKILLS
Ann Glang, PhD
Oregon Center for Applied Science, Inc.
aglang@orcasinc.com
Funded by National Institute of Child Health and
Human Development R44 HD36554
Thinking about dealing
with the school
professionals regarding my
child is very stressful and I
feel very defensive most of
the time but I try very hard
to hide it.
~ Parent
As a parent all I know is
after…an IEP meeting you
have 'jet-lag' no matter
how well the session goes.…
You really are at the mercy
of others.
~Parent
PARENTS PLAY A SIGNIFICANT
ROLE
Children whose parents are involved in their
education have better school and post-school
outcomes
THE PROBLEM
Many educators are unaware of the effects of
childhood brain injury
Most parents of children with brain injury are not
knowledgeable about the special education
system
CHALLENGE
Often parent-professional relationship becomes
adversarial
• Different expectations
• High stress
PARENTS AS ADVOCATES
Breakdown in family-school communication is the
most frequent reason for mediation and due
process
Parents can learn to use effective advocacy skills
(Walker, 1996; Glang, McLaughlin & Schroeder, 2007)
WEB-BASED PARENT TRAINING
Convenient, easily accessed
63% of Americans have high speed internet (April 2009,
Pew Research Center)
Studies by Wade et al: demonstrated therapeutic
benefits, participant satisfaction of web-based
training
BRAIN INJURY PARTNERS:
NAVIGATING THE SCHOOL SYSTEM
Internet-based advocacy training program for
parents of school-aged children
HTTP://FREE.BRAININJURYPARTNERS.COM
BRAIN INJURY PARTNERS:
NAVIGATING THE SCHOOL SYSTEM
CONTENT DEVELOPMENT
Literature on effective advocacy skills
Focus groups and interviews with families,
educators, professionals
Partnership with Brain Injury Assn. of America
ADVOCACY SKILLS
1.
2.
3.
4.
5.
Communicating effectively
Identifying and summarizing the problem
Goal setting and prioritizing
Learning to access information and resources
Accessing social support
FORMAT
Information: text, video testimonials
Resources: printable forms, links
FORMAT
Communication tutorial: Focus on behavioral skills,
e.g., “listening skills”
• Body language
• Eye contact
• Checking understanding
Use of text, video, interactive application
EVALUATION
Randomized controlled trial with 31 parents of
school-aged children
Outcome measures: knowledge, skill application
and attitudes regarding advocating for children
with TBI
SAMPLE
Parents of children with TBI age 5-14
Years post injury: 5.7 (SD = 4.6)
83% of children receiving special education services
METHODS
Random assignment to Brain Injury Partners or
Project BRAIN CD
Pretest, posttest
All assessments completed online
Control group given access to program at conclusion
of study
RESULTS
Parents who used the Brain Injury Partners program were
more likely to score higher in knowledge of and intent to
use effective communication skills at both post-test and 3
month follow-up
There were no significant differences between groups in
intent to use use self care techniques or on knowledge of
useful tools
Last week we had an IEP
review and I really focused
on my body language. I
think that the
administrators were less
defensive because I did not
take a defensive stance.
~Parent participant
I'm much less rigid
and confrontational
when approaching
problems…
~Parent participant
I am able to find a solution to a teacher's complaint
by linking the problem to the symptoms of my son's
brain injury and offering solutions to both my son
and the teacher based on my historical experience in
what works and what doesn’t... It works!
~Parent participant
FOR MORE INFORMATION
Glang, A., McLaughlin, K., & Schroeder, S. (2007).
Interactive multimedia to teach parent advocacy
skills: An exploratory study. Journal of Head Trauma
Rehabilitation, 22(3), 196-203.