Family Trainees in LEND

Barriers, Strategies and Successes

Fran D. Goldfarb USC UCEDD, CATerri Abrams, Rochester Center, NY

Anne Bradford Harris, Waisman Center, WI

Ruth Roberts, Boling Center, TN

LEND Family Discipline Workgroup Fran Goldfarb, USC, CA,

Chair Becky Adelmann, OHSU Darla Cohen, IN Sheryl Feuer, OH Audrey Koertvelyessy,

HRSA Paula Lalinde,FL Barbara Levitz,

Westchester, NY Jan Moss, OK Elaine Ogburn, VA Crystal Pariseau, AUCD Madhavi Reddy, HRSA

Ruth Roberts, TN Laurel Ryan, TN Mark Smith, NE Denise Sofka, HRSA Barbara Wagner, WI Mark Wolraich, OK Jackie Yingling, Rochester,

NY

Wow! Wow!

Agenda Introduction Common Thread for Success: A LEND Family

Trainee’s Perspective on a Clinical Mentorship Family Trainees in LEND Overview Panel Comments

Fran Goldfarb Anne Bradford Harris Ruth Roberts

LEND from the Trainees Perspective Teri Abrams

Common Thread for Success:

A LEND Family Trainee’s Perspective on a Clinical Mentorship

Terri Abrams, LEND Family TraineeJackie Yingling, LEND Family Discipline CoordinatorLiz Baltus-Hebert, Occupational Therapy Discipline

CoordinatorSCDD LEND, Rochester, NY

Typical Mentoring Experience

Trainee in a professional discipline is linked with a family to shadow over a period of time, with the intent of identifying strengths, and to gain an increased understanding and appreciation of how families cope, access supports, and share resources

What happens when a Family Trainee is looking for a different kind of experience?

Family Trainee and Family Discipline Coordinator design a new kind of mentoring experience utilizing the same objectives, format, and resulting formal class presentation

The ProcessFamily Trainee linked with a

professional discipline coordinator from the SCDD/LEND program

Family Trainee researched different professional disciplines and chose Occupational Therapy as a discipline she would like to know more about

Occupational Therapy Discipline Coordinator is open to the experience

From the perspective of the clinical supervisor

Why OT??? Designed an ITP to meet

Terri’s interests, skills and needs

No specific skills to teach or knowledge to transfer as with an OT trainee

I offered opportunities so that her experiences would be as diverse as possible

Widened Terri’s perspective on what constitutes a family: foster family, inner city family, single parent

Their needs were as diverse as the families themselves

What did I give to the experience?

Thoughts about what might be most beneficial for Terri to experience

Examination of my schedule, caseload to identify opportunities for those experiences

Notify Terri of the opportunities, allow her to choose which she would like to observe

Ask families’ permission

What did I gain from the experience?

Observations from the perspective of a parent of a child with special needs

A second set of eyes and ears and hands A sounding board for problem solving Affirmation that my intervention was

worthwhile

LEND Clinical Presentation

Terri Abrams2007

Early Intervention The system through which children from

Birth to age 3 with developmental disabilities receive supports and services.

Established by the IDEA. In NY funded and administered through

the county health department.

Occupational Therapy Occupational therapy is the art and science of directing an

individual's participation in selected tasks to restore, reinforce, and enhance performance; facilitate learning of those skills and functions essential for adaptation and productivity; diminish or correct pathology; and promote and maintain health.

Its fundamental concern is the development and maintenance of the capacity throughout the life span to perform with satisfaction to self and others those tasks and roles essential to productive living and to the mastery of self and the environment.

Since the primary focus of occupational therapy is the development of adaptive skills and performance capacity, its concern is with factors that promote, influence, or enhance performance as well as those that serve as barriers or impediments to the individuals ability to function.

Occupational Therapy Occupational therapy provides service to those individuals

whose abilities to cope with tasks of living are threatened or impaired by developmental deficits, the aging process, poverty and cultural differences, physical injury or illness, or psychological and social disability.

Occupational therapy serves a diverse population in a variety of settings such as hospitals and clinics, rehabilitation facilities, long-term care facilities, extended care facilities, sheltered workshops, schools and camps, private homes, and community agencies. Occupational therapists both receive from and make referrals to appropriate health, educational, or medical specialists. Delivery of occupational therapy services involves several levels of personnel including the certified therapist, the certified occupational therapy assistant, and aides.

Definition from: www.sunyjcc.edu/college-wide/ota/index.

“We need to support each child and family where they are…use our knowledge and resources to

support them and their priorities.”Liz Baltus Hebert

VisitsR family suburban 2 parents Ext. family,

advocacy, vision, persistence

3 young children, disability, help, skills, info

J family urban 2 parents Caring, stable, church, support each other

SES, education,System help, info, skills, schedule

D family urban Parents apart Grandmother, service opportunity

Maturity, stability, education, custody, help, skills

Andrews Center

foster nuns Stable, competent, loving, involve parents

Funding, hands-on help, information

Joys and Frustrations Variety Different strengths

and hopes Fun to watch the

children learn and grow.

The system When kids lose

because people can’t get what they need

When personal values conflict with a family’s.

So what is the common thread?

(And the formula for success?)

Disability(Family) + Support =Increased Resilience

Disability(Family) Each family and

individual is unique. Each has gifts and

needs of their own. Culture, SES, etc. all

play a role. Disability is a variable

and even varying factor.

Support Must be

individualized. Contributes: skills,

information, strategies, or help.

Often must be interdisciplinary.

Must be respectful.

Appropriate support is like new sneakers:

“Now I can run faster and jump higher!”

Increased Resilience Improved situation. New skills or strategies. A sense of being understood or validated. Additional resources. An enhanced sense of security or confidence.

“Families are sometimes overwhelmed but they can do so many things—incredible things!”

Liz

"The world breaks everyone and afterward many are stronger at the broken places."  

--  Ernest Hemingway

Family Trainees in LEND

Barriers, Strategies and Successes

Family Trainees in LEND N=28 programs

Yes- 18 (64%) No- 8 (29%) Uncertain- 2 (7%)

Number of Years 1-2 years – 9 (50%) 3-4 years – 6 (33%) Over 4years – 3 (range from 5-11

years) (17%) Number of Family Trainees per year

1 trainee = 7 1-2 trainees =3 2–3 trainees = 3

Barriers to Establishing None/Very Few = 7 Funding Enrollment in

University Minimum Educational

Requirements Curriculum Supervision Class Schedule Recruitment Materials

Strategies for Establishing Develop program and budget funds Program out of a hospital – not subject to

University requirements Funding from same stipend pool as other

disciplines Trainees in other disciplines who are also

parents Clear trainee qualifications and requirements

Strategies for Establishing Trainee Recruitment

Work with advocacy groups to publicize program Cast a wide net Have former trainees help Look for trainees already involved in the field Recruit year round

Allow two year fellowships Collaboration with Parent-to-Parent and local

Children's Services Council

Strategies for Establishment

Flexibility on Everyone’s Part

Barriers for Maintaining No/Very Few – 7 Family Crises Trainee Recruitment Balancing LEND and

Family (and Work) English as a second

language Academic Support Dropping Out

Strategies for Maintaining Application included questions regarding barriers

to participation and need for accommodation Support/Partnering from other fellows Allow two year fellowships LEND activities that focus on leadership and

advocacy Support from Employer Accommodations on assignments and due dates

Strategies for Establishment

Flexibility on Everyone’s Part

Successes Trainees have taken positions with other

family support agencies Identified by People Magazine as a Local

Hero Became Parent Faculty Increased networking with other national disability leaders and professionals

Successes

Graduated just like everyone else

Panel Presentation

WI MCH LEND, Waisman Center, UW-Madison

LEND Co-Director – Anne Bradford Harris

UCEDD Director- Daniel BierFamily Faculty – Barbara Wagner

Family Trainees since 2005/06

(3 years)

UT Boling Center for Developmental Disabilities

Family Faculty: UCEDD/LEND Director Fred Palmer Training Director – Ruth Roberts Family Faculty – Laurel Ryan Memphis

Knoxville

Tennessee

USC

UCEDD at Childrens Hospital Los Angeles

Training Director: Patrice Yasuda

LEND Director: Marion Taylor Baer

Family Faculty: Fran Goldfarb

Family Trainees since 1995/96 (12 years)

Strong Center for Developmental Disabilities

University of RochesterGolisano Children's Hospital at Strong

Training/LEND Director: Stephen Sulkes

Family Faculty: Jackie Yingling

Family Trainees since 2006/07 (2 years)