Curricula for Supporting Parents with Intellectual and Cognitive Challenges
Compiled at the North Dakota Center for Persons with Disabilities August 2008 by Cathy Haarstad, MS
Title
Building Foundations –
A Curriculum Guide for
Supported Parenting
Supporting Families
When Parents Have
Intellectual Disabilities
Working with Families
with Children/Parents
with Developmental
Disabilities
HELP When the Parent
has Disabilities
Authors/Publish Date/Content
Bridget McCusker & Bernadette Irwin, M.S. (2002)
This curriculum provides users with a strong overview of the
content areas and best practice methods for providing training
individually and in groups.
 Principles & Best Practices
 Instructional Strategies
 Core Areas & Resources
 Manual with handouts
Cathy Haarstad, MS (2005)
This curriculum is designed for use in training professionals
who are at a beginning understanding of the needs of the
population or who are looking for an approach that can help to
simplify decision-making.
 Beliefs
 Assessment
 Planning
 Implementation
Manual with handouts & CD with 4 Power Point training
modules including practica activities & quizzes
Natasha Green, B.A. and Virginia Cruz, D.S.W., (2000)
This is a university training curriculum for child welfare
workers and other helping professionals
 Modules,
 Videos
 Handouts for direct service professionals and social workers
Stephanie Parks, M.A. (1997-2008)
 Activities and training techniques for directly involving
parents with cognitive, sensory & physical limitations
 Cross-referenced to the HELP skills (ages birth-2 years),
 Offers special adaptations for parent training and
involvement.
Ordering Information
Kennedy Kreiger Institute
Training Products Division
7000 Tudsbury Road
Baltimore, MD 21244
410-298-9286
www.kennedykrieger.org
Cost - $69.95
ND Center for Persons with Disabilities
500 University Avenue W.
Minot, ND 58707
701-858-3230
www.ndcpd.org
cathy.haarstad@minotstateu.edu
Cost - $25
The Social Work Program Metropolitan
State College of Denver
P.O. Box 173362, Campus Box 70, Denver,
Colorado 80217.
(303) 556-4464
www.developmentaldisability.org/
Cost - $245.00 Video
VORT Corporation
P.O. Box 60132
Palo Alto, CA 94306
(888) 757-VORT (Extension - 8678)
(FAX: (650) 327-0747
http://www.vort.com/index.html
Cost - $39.95
Title
You Make the
Difference in Helping
Your Child Learn
It Takes Two to Talk
You & Your Baby
The Health and
Wellness Program A Parenting Curriculum
for Families at Risk
Working with Parents
who have Cognitive
Limitations
Sunny Side of the
Street
Authors/Publish Date/Content
Ordering Information
Manolson, Doddington & Ward (1995)
These guidebooks are filled with illustrations helps parents
connect with young children to foster self esteem & language.
 Language development and learning.
 Especially designed for parents with limited literacy skills
 DVD version shows real moms and dads interacting and
having fun with their children during everyday activities, while
at the same time supporting their learning and development.
The Hanen Centre
252 Bloor St. W. Ste 3-390
Toronto, Ontario Canada M5S IV5
http://www.hanen.org/web/Home/HanenOnline
Store/tabid/91/Default.aspx
Cost - Guidebooks with photos $20
Cost - DVD $52
Cost - Posters $12
Tymchuk, Alexander. (2006)
The Health and Wellness Program is a comprehensive
program for direct support professionals and social
workers supporting at-risk families.
 a program manual with background information on
parents with disabilities
 guidance on starting a program and assessing parent skills
 overviews of what to teach in parent education programs
 18 printable workbook-style handouts to give to
parents, each using clear, simple language and realistic colored
illustrations to teach critical skills
Elizabeth Thorin, Ph.D. & Martin Sheehan, Ph.D. (2006)
Working with Parents who have Cognitive Limitations is
a research-based program helps teachers, nurses and social
service providers:
 Video with handouts on how to recognize when a parent
might have cognitive limitations , develop a respectful working
relationship with parents, communicate effectively with
parents, & maximize appropriate and beneficial conditions for
the parents' children
Sunny Side of the Street is designed to help assist parents
in your community to encourage their children's development
by building positive family relationships and establishing
healthy home and playtime routines. The program uses music,
games, videos, pictures and positive modeling to promote
activities that support social, emotional and literacy
Brookes Publishers
Customer Service Department
Brookes Publishing Co.
P.O. Box 10624
Baltimore, MD 21285-0624
1-800-638-3775;
http://brookespublishing.com/store/book
s/tymchuk-8175/index.htm
Cost - $69.95
IRIS Media Inc.
258 East 10th Avenue, Suite B
Eugene, OR 97401
Call us toll free at 1-877-343-4747
https://www.lookiris.com/store/Develop
mental_Disabilities/Working_with_Parents
_who_have_Cognitive_Limitations/
custserv@brookespublishing.com
Cost - $85.00
IRIS Media Inc.
258 East 10th Avenue, Suite B
Eugene, OR 97401
1-877-343-4747
https://www.lookiris.com/store/Parenting_and_
Parent_Involvement/Sunny_Side_of_the_Street
_ONLINE/
Cost - $50 is a one year subscription
Title
Nurturing Program for
Parents and Their
Children with Health
Challenges™
Alternatives to
Spanking Video Series
The National
SafeCare®
Training and Research
Center
SafeCare Parenting
Program
Step-By-Step ChildCare: A Manual for
Parents, Day-care Staff
and Baby-Sitters
Authors/Publish Date/Content
Ordering Information
Michele Tryon BS, & Donna LaTour-Elefante BS, (1983present)
The Nurturing Parenting Programs are a family-centered
initiative designed to build nurturing parenting skills as an
alternative to abusive and neglecting parenting and childrearing. The programs have been adapted for special
populations, including parents with special learning needs
 Eight 2 hour sessions meet one day a week for 8 weeks.
 Parents and children meet concurrently in separate groups.
 Two facilitators run each group;
 Parents and children engage in a 30-minute Nurturing Time
(Program Family Time) with games, songs, snacks and more.
John R. Lutzker Ph.D. & Dan Whitaker, PhD. Director,
(2007)
The National SafeCare Center works with organizations to
increase the number of staff trained in the SafeCare Parenting
Program. Research has shown that SafeCare reduces child
maltreatment among at-risk and maltreating families by
helping parents improve:
 Parent-Child and Parent-Infant Interaction skills
 Home Safety
 Infant and Child Health Care
Families receive services for approximately 18 weeks, with
some exceptions depending on each family’s needs. Families
are seen once a week for approximately one and a half hours
each session.
Family Development Resources, Inc.
3070 Rasmussen Road, Suite 190
Park City, UT 84098
1-800-688-5822
http://www.nurturingparenting.com/order_info.
htm
Cost - varies depending on provider need
Maurice Feldman, Ph.D. & Laurie Case, MA (2005)
This curriculum consists of a 230 page manual of evidencebased task-analysis child-care checklists and picture books
appropriate for newborns-5 year olds.
 Topics include basic newborn and child-care, nutrition,
home safety, handling emergencies, toilet training and
positive parent-child interactions.
 Picture books have been empirically validated as selflearning tools for parents with cognitive limitations.
Centre for Applied Disability Studies
Brock University
500 Glenridge Ave.
St. Catharines, Ontario, Canada L2S 3A1
(905)688-5550 ext. 4894
Email (preferred): mfeldman@brocku.ca
Cost – unavailable contact Dr. Feldman
The Marcus Institute
1920 Briarcliff Road,
Atlanta, GA 30329
1.404.419.4000
safecarecenter@marcus.org
http://www.marcus.org/index.html
Cost - varies depending on travel distance and
the number of persons trained.
Title
The Family Game:
Increasing ParentChild Rapport and
Positive Child Behavior
The Family Court
Experience: A Guide
for Parents with
Disabilities and their
Advocates
Strategies and
Adaptations in
Working with Parents
with Intellectual
Disabilities
Training Module on
Developing Support
Groups for Parents
with Intellectual
Disabilities (2005)
Teaching Children with
Down Syndrome about
Their Bodies,
Boundaries, and
Sexuality
A Guide for Parents and
Professionals
Authors/Publish Date/Content
Maurice Feldman, Ph.D. (2006)
This manual describes a group game teaching format for
parents with cognitive limitations
 Increases parent child rapport and child positive behavior.
 Appropriate for children aged 2-10 years.
Ella Callow, JD., (2005)
This guide is intended to help parents with disabilities take as
much control over the family court process as possible. This
guide will give information about the child custody case
experience generally and specifically what parents with
disabilities need to know and what actions they can take to
protect their children and themselves.
Ordering Information
Centre for Applied Disability Studies
Brock University
500 Glenridge Ave.
St. Catharines, Ontario, Canada L2S 3A1
Phone (905)688-5550 ext. 4894
Email (preferred): mfeldman@brocku.ca
Cost – unavailable contact Dr. Feldman
Through the Looking Glass
2198 Sixth Street, Suite 100
Berkeley, CA 94710-2204
1-800-644-2666
1-800-804-1616 TTY
Fax: (510) 848-4445
http://lookingglass.org/index.php
Cost - $35.00
Kathie Corbus, OTR, Sherrie Hansen, PhD, (2005)
This guide provides helpful information and concrete ideas for
working successfully with parents with intellectual disabilities.
The training module is a comprehensive program on how to
create effective support groups.
Cost - Guide is $5
Cost - Training Module is $100
Terri Couwenhoven, MS (2007)
Although this book is designed for parents of children and
youth with Down syndrome, the excellent pictorial and
resource materials can be used with parents with intellectual
and cognitive challenges who experience difficulty with
relationships, sexuality and birth control.
Woodbine House
6510 Bells Mill Rd.
Bethesda, MD 20817
1-800-843-7323
http://www.woodbinehouse.com/default.asp
Cost - $24.95