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Paper Abstract: Evaluates American Indian Pacer Parent Education Program. Its aim of providing education that teachers skills training to parents of handicapped children. Cites beneficial results of the program. Description of program and its mission. Research findings on outcomes of the program including helping disabled children do better in school and avoid health problems. Criticizes emphasis on advocacy. Table of Contents. Paper Introduction: TABLE OF CONTENTS EVALUATION OF THE AMERICAN INDIAN PACER PARENT EDUCATION PROGRAM FOR NATIVE AMERICAN PARENTS OF DISABLED CHILDREN 2 Introduction 2 Program Description 3 Review of the Literature 4 Evaluation of the Program 5 Discussion and Reactions 7 Conclusions 8 References. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 9 EVALUATION OF THE AMERICAN INDIAN PACER PARENT EDUCATION PROGRAM FOR NATIVE AMERICAN PARENTS OF DISABLED CHILDREN Introduction Powell (1990) has noted that: The term "parent education" typically evokes the image of an expert lecturing a group of mothers about the ages and stages of child development. Yet a view of parent education and support as a staff-directed, didactic activity is neither a complete nor accurate portrayal of many programs of parent education and Text of the Paper: The entire text of the paper is shown below. However, the text is somewhat scrambled. We want to give you as much information as we possibly can about our papers and essays, but we cannot give them away for free. In the text below you will find that while disordered, many of the phrases are essentially intact. From this text you will be able to get a solid sense of the writing style, the concepts addressed, and the sources used in the research paper. . ED 32 661). (199 ). Star Tribune, p.E1. . Journal of Applied Behavior Analysis, 25(1),2 5-215. Indeed, according to Bawden, Ralph and Herrick(1991), disabled children whose mothers receive some form of skill trainingtend to outperform their counterparts whose mothers did not receivetraining. Child Care Health Development, 6(3), 157-164. And, while they do indeedprovide parents with education and training, it can be noted that thistraining constitutes perhaps 35 percent of the services with the rest ofthese being primarily referral. . In addition, the authors state that these children also evidencegreater psychoemotional and psychosocial development than theircounterparts. (April 26, 1997). . Cummins, H.J. In more current research Feldman, Case, Garrick, MacIntyre-Grande,Carnwell and Sparks (1992) observed that when the parents of disabledchildren received training and other forms of assistance in helping them tocare for their children, their subsequent behavior greatly improved theirchild's chances of suffering from health problems associated with lack ofadequate care. . It's parent training componentneeds evaluation and it is likely that based on such an evaluation, thecomponent may possibly need some improvement. With respect the ParentTraining component of PACER programs, professional staff work to helpparents become informed not only about the specifics of child careattendant to their children's disabilities but also about technical,educational, and sociopolitical assistance available to them in their areas(Sharmon, 2 ). For example, Barna, Bidder, Gray, Clements and Gardner (198 )found that parents of developmentally delayed children given training inchild care, when compared to parents not given such assistance, were ableto assist their child to develop at a faster rate. Enhancing the copingskills of mothers with developmentally delayed children. It is concluded that while advocacy efforts are important, anorientation toward helping Native Americans work as a community to provideas many needed services as possible is probably an alternative option thatthe PACER program should work on. . Program staff are primary Native Americans themselves and havereceived training in culturally sensitive work with parents of disabledchildren. The PACER program tends to refer families to exactly who theyneed to help them with a given situation. Parents are also provided with referral to other parent and supportgroups. In terms of programspecifics, the American Indian program offered by PACER offers workshopsfor parents in which they learn about special education rights andresponsibilities. The concept of the parent education field has broadened considerably in the past two decades. Discussion and Reactions Based on this review of program specifics, the available evaluativedata collected by the PACER Company, and the body of existing research onthe effects of parent education programs, it seems reasonable to believethat the PACER program evaluated in this report is probably a very goodoverall support program to Native American families with disabled children.It definitely seems strong in its capacity to hook-up families to preciselythose services and information they need. Families, professions, andexceptionality: A special partnership. References Barna, S., Bidder, R.T., Gray, O.P., Clements, J. Giventhis fact, it seems reasonable to suggest that the Native American ParentPACER program begin to measure direct outcomes of parent education andtraining workshops so as to determine the degree of success expressly forthis component. (p. Even data collected by PACER, Incorporated (see: Sharmon, 2 ) toevaluate its programs shows the heavy emphasis placed on providing referralservices. . 2. (3rd ed.) NY: Macmillan.----------------------- 1 (1996). . In summary then, the research offers support for parent education asa means of helping disabled children to perform better in school, developat a faster rate, and avoid a number of health problems. Sharmon, D.J. Yet a view of parent education and support as a staff-directed, didactic activity is neither a complete nor accurate portrayal of many programs of parent education and support. At federal, state, and local levels, there are now a variety of ambitious and diverse initiatives aimed at supporting families with young children. . & Herrick, C.A. The just delineated facts highlight the importance of this report'sevaluation of a parent training program, namely the American Indian PACERprogram designed and implemented to provide education and supportiveservices to Native American families with disabled children. Teaching child-care skills to mothers withdevelopmental disabilities. Turnbull, A.P. . In addition to educational workshops, parents are givenindividual assistance related to helping them plan an effective educationalprograms, and to understand their child's rights and their rights asparents. 3. Specifically, almost all of the measures used to assess programeffects related to referral services, e.g., the number of calls received,the number of successful referrals made, and so forth. . Journal ofChild and Adolescent Psychiatric Mental Health Nursing, 4(1), 25-28. . . TABLE OF CONTENTS EVALUATION OF THE AMERICAN INDIAN PACER PARENT EDUCATION PROGRAM FOR NATIVE AMERICAN PARENTS OF DISABLED CHILDREN 2 Introduction 2 Program Description 3 Review of the Literature 4 Evaluation of the Program 5 Discussion and Reactions 7 Conclusions 8 References. On the other hand, an examination of the various services the programoffers indicates that many of these are basically referral rather thantraining. A fighting chance. Ithink history teaches Native Americans that the government is perhaps notthe best source to plead its case for anything. (2 ). As noted in the beginning ofthis report, there are indications that handicapped children perform betterin school when their parents are provided with skills training in terms oftaking care of their needs (Bawden, Ralph & Herrick, 1991). . Further, such programsappear to help parents better cope with their children's disabilities. Even early research into the effects of parent education programsoffer strong support for the effectiveness of many of these educationalefforts. . The greater their provision ofneeded services, and the less dependence on government the better, Ipersonally believe, they will be. It is concluded that the PACER program evaluated is probablybetter in some areas such as referral than in others such as parenttraining but that before confidence can be placed in this evaluativeconclusion some empirical research needs to be conducted on the effects ofparent training workshops. Feldman, M.A., Case, L., Garrick, M., MacIntyre-Grande, W., Carnwell,J. This is only a possibility because there is noavailable data that directly measures training/education outcomes. Conclusions Based on the information presented in this report and the conductedevaluation of the Native American PACER program, the following conclusionscan be formulated: 1. ERICDigest. 1) One of the most important of these efforts to support families ofdisabled/handicapped children is considered to be parent education andsupport programs that provided skills training to parents in the care oftheir handicapped children. In terms of my personal reaction, I was somewhat "put off" by thereextremely strong emphasis the program places on advocacy with respect tolocal, state and federal government, a position I found somewhat scary. . What makes the American Indian program special is that it not onlyprovides all of the customary parent training given in all PACER programs,it does so in a culturally relevant and culturally sensitive manner byusing Native American counselors and presenting information in a fashionthat is relevant and meaningful for Native Americans. Evaluation of the Program There is reason to believe that the American Indian PACER program isassisting parents of disabled children to help these children realize theirfull potential. This paper'sevaluation of The American Indian Parent PACER program offering informationand training to Native American parents of children with disabilitiesconstitutes part of this needed ongoing effort to evaluate programeffectiveness. It is therefore recommended here that theprogram begin to expand its evaluation indices to include direct outcomesof parent training. . Bawden, Ralph and Herrick (1991) further report thatparents, especially mothers, who do not receive assistance, support, andtraining in the care of their handicapped children are at much greater riskfor depression than are those who participate in parent education programs. . Because of the lowered emphasis placed on parent education andtraining as opposed to referral, it is possible that if the program were tobe objectively assessed with respect to the effects of their trainingworkshops, their "marks" might be somewhat lower than those received forreferral services. In thisregard, it can be noted that in the United States there are a wide varietyof parent skills training programs for couples with special needs children.In order to determine what programs are optimally successful, there must beongoing evaluation efforts of all implemented programs. Indeed, Cummins (1997) in a newspaper investigation of theprogram, noted that the variety of services and training provided to thefamilies of disabled Native American children was extremely wide in scopeand that several families in the program praise it highly. . Workshops also offer training in positive behavioral interventions,ways to manage difficult behaviors, effective communication skills, andother skills parents require in taking care of their handicapped/disabledchildren. Powell, D.R. These findingsprovides reason to believe that the program evaluated in this report couldwell be helpful to parents and their children in several ways. It is concluded that, in general, parent education programs forfamilies with disabled and handicapped children are very positive forcesfor helping these children to realize their full potential, to perform wellin school and to avoid health-related complications. & Gardner, S.(198 ). PACER Center incorporated: Parent information.Minneapolis, Minnesota: PACER Center, Inc. . (1992). (ERIC Document Reproduction Service No. . 9 EVALUATION OF THE AMERICAN INDIAN PACER PARENT EDUCATION PROGRAM FOR NATIVE AMERICAN PARENTS OF DISABLED CHILDREN Introduction Powell (199 ) has noted that: The term "parent education" typically evokes the image of an expert lecturing a group of mothers about the ages and stages of child development. Bawden, M., Ralph, J. (1991). Program Description The American Indian PACER program shares with all other PACERprograms the mission of improving and expanding opportunities that enhancethe quality of life for children with disabilities. Finally, based on an extensive review of the literature,Turnbull and Turnbull (1996) reported that parent education programs areone of the best strategies available for making sure that handicappedchildren begin life ready to perform at their full potential. The progress of developmentally delayed pre-school children in ahome-training scheme. & Turnbull, H.R. & Sparks, B. . What I would like to see are Native Americans working in communitieswith PACER to help themselves to provide services needed by these families,including training and other services. Moreover, a great deal of the information that is presented in theactual workshops centers around behavioral management of these childrenrather than on specific physical needs that must be cared for. In otherwords, management appears to have a somewhat greater focus than healthcare. . Parent education and support programs. Review of the Literature What are the outcomes of programs providing training and education toparents of disabled and handicapped children? If this paper is not what you are looking for, you can search again: Search for: or Click here to request an essay written just for you.