Program Goals

The goals of Working Successfully with Parents with IDD are:

• Define and describe the term "intellectual disabilities"
• State the American Disabilities Act (ADA) legal rationale to require service providers to accommodate the learning style and needs of parents with intellectual disabilities
• Identify the strengths and needs of parents with intellectual disabilities
• Set goals that are realistic, reasonable, and fair
• Break goals down into action steps and learning tasks that allow parents to demonstrate reasonable progress
• Utilize appropriate cognitive behavioral strategies to assist the parent in meeting their goals

Logic Model

The program representative did not provide information about a Logic Model for Working Successfully with Parents with IDD.

Essential Components

The essential components of Working Successfully with Parents with IDD include:

• Each training is led by 2 trainers who are experts in the parents with disabilities.
• Training includes a parent with IDD, who shares their story and provides invaluable insight into their own needs.
• Virtual training over Zoom or similar, making it available to more people across the entire country (and abroad).
• Live and interactive training, completed over one full-day or two half-days.
• Social Work CEUs (through NASW) available
• Focused on increasing the knowledge and skills of professionals working with parents with intellectual disabilities (ID) in all systems, including child welfare, DD services, early intervention, school systems, and more
• Designed to better equip professionals to understand the life experiences of parents with IDD (including trauma), and write realistic and appropriate goals and provide specialized in-home services that support families and address the issues families with IDD face
• Designed to better equip professionals to work with parents with IDD and understand their needs and learning styles
• Designed to help professionals modify their skills to provide best practices, and legally required accommodations to individuals with IDD
• Provided as a training on how to work with parents with intellectual disabilities:
• Part One: Introduction
• Learning Objectives
• How Can This Training Be Helpful?
• Target Population
• Defining Disability
• Part Two: The Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA)
• Part Three: Parents With Intellectual Developmental Disability (IDD)
• Intellectual Developmental Disability
• Language Matters
• “A Fair Chance” Video
• Life Experiences
• Making Reasonable Accommodations
• Part Four: How Do Parents with IDD Learn Best?
• Assessment Areas
• Learning Preferences
• Sensory Considerations
• Take Aways
• Part Five: Case Planning
• Strengths Perspective
• Parents Who Do Well
• Case Study: Meet Karen & Sophia
• Establishing a Relationship
• The Goal Setting Process
• Setting Appropriate, Realistic and Fair Goals
• Process of Selecting and Defining Goals in Partnership
• Types of Goals
• Identifying Possible Strategies
• Wrap Up

Program Delivery

Recommended Intensity:

The information taught in this training is designed to be incorporated into the day-to-day work of the professional who works with families headed by a parent with intellectual disabilities.

Recommended Duration:

The information taught in this training is designed to be incorporated into the day-to-day work of the professional who works with families headed by a parent with intellectual disabilities.

Delivery Settings

This program is typically conducted in a(n):

• Birth Family Home
• Community-based Agency / Organization / Provider

Homework

This program does not include a homework component.

Resources Needed to Run Program

The typical resources for implementing the program are:

Participants of the training program receive a trainee manual and toolkit. Consulting is available after training to help serve parents with intellectual disabilities.

Manuals and Training

Prerequisite/Minimum Provider Qualifications

The program representative did not provide information regarding the minimum education level for group facilitators.

Manual Information

There is a manual that describes how to deliver this program.

Program Manual(s)

Training manuals:

• The Association for Successful Parenting. (2024). Working Successfully with Parents with IDD training manual. Author.
• The Association for Successful Parenting. (2021). Working Successfully with Parents with IDD parent and provider toolkit. Author.

Manuals are provided as part of the training.

Training Information

There is training available for this program.

Training Contact:

• Chelsea Tighe, M.Ed.
  achancetoparent.net/working-successfully-training
  Tasp.chelsea@gmail.com

Training Type/Location:

Training is provided in a live, online format (typically via Zoom Meetings). Training is done in a full day, or over two half-days (agency preference). Hosting agency typically provides the Zoom, or other online platform access for trainers, and registers participants.

Information for training of group trainers was not provided.

TASP has an Organizational Self-Assessment that any agency, program, or system may use to determine how they are currently serving parents with IDD, and where they may need to improve.

The TASP OSA can be accessed free of charge here: https://achancetoparent.net/organizational-self-assessment-on-supporting-and-advocating-for-parents-with-i-dd/

Number of days/hours:

1-day training for 7.5 hours total (including a 1-hour lunch break), or across two half-days (3.5 hours each day).

Relevant Published, Peer-Reviewed Research

Currently, there are no published, peer-reviewed research studies for Working Successfully with Parents with IDD.

Additional References

No reference materials are currently available for Working Successfully with Parents with IDD.