Communicating effectively with parents and care-providers is a core responsibility for special educators. As teachers we know that students will achieve best outcomes when educators and families work together. The beginning of the school year is a great time to set-up your communication practices that will lead to quality relationship building throughout the year. This session will share ideas and resources for using technology to more effectively engage and communicate with parents and care-providers. From the simplest text message to the use of asynchronous video analysis – together we will learn how to leverage technology to get connected.

1. Leveraging Technology to Build Positive and Effective
Family/Teacher Relationships
Patricia Wright
Vice President, Professional Services: Rethink

2.  Creative ideas for using technology to connect with parents and care-
providers
 Improved understanding of the basic strategies of active listening and
how this applies when using technology to communicate
 Specific applications of the current research regarding technology and
communication with families.
Webinar Focus

3. Why is this important?
Higher rates of anxiety and depression
• 46% of caregivers need more help managing their emotional/physical stress
• 40% of parents need help balancing work and family responsibilities
Increased absenteeism and work limitations
• Up to 250 hours in lost work time per year
• $3,000–5,000 in lost productivity
Heavy impact on employment decisions
• 53% worked fewer hours to accommodate needs of child with autism
• 58% did not take a job
• 23% did not take a promotion

4. What do We Know?

5.  Home visiting + text messages and phone calls increased improved
parenting strategies and child engagement and reduced children’s
challenging behaviors over home visiting alone (Carta et al, 2013)
What do we know? Cellular Phone

6. What do we know? Training and Coaching Via
Internet
 Improved the social communication skills
of their children with ASD (Meadan,
Meyer, Snodgrass & Halle, 2013)
 Increased their knowledge of ABA
strategies and concepts and improved
their implementation of ABA strategies
with their children (Heitzman-Powell,
Buzhardt, Rusinko & Miller, 2014).
 Increased parent learning and improved
child behaviors (Vismara et al, 2013).

7. What do we know?
Phone Calls and Email  Follow-up email and phone calls to
support AAC integration at home
(Sigafoos et al, 2004)

8.  Increased success with functional communication training (Suess et al,
2014)
What do we know? Video Feedback

9.  The Internet offers a variety of opportunities for sharing peer
support and consulting professionals (Nieuwboer, Rukkink & Rubins,
2014).
What do we know? Social Networking

10. Communication

12.  Validation: Acknowledge the speaker’s key points, pain points and
feelings. Listen openly and with empathy, and respond in an
interested way — for example, “I appreciate your willingness to talk
about such a difficult issue. . .” or “I appreciate you sharing your
thoughts with me…”
 Restating: Repeat the speaker’s communication— by paraphrasing
not parroting, what you heard in your own words. For example, “Let’s
see if I’m clear about this…” or “What I hear you saying is…” or “To
clarify, you feel…”
Communication: Active Listening

13.  Summarizing: Summarize the facts and key points of the conversation for
understanding and clarity — for example, “So it sounds to me as if . . .” or “… is
that it?”
 Reflecting: Instead of just repeating, reflect the speaker’s words in terms of
feelings — for example, “This seems really important to you. . .” “I can see that
this makes you feel…”
 Silence: Allow for comfortable silences and slow down the exchange. Give a
person time to think as well as talk. Silence can be helpful in diffusing or
redirecting unproductive interactions.
Communication: Active Listening

14. Communication: Active Listening
 Validation
 Restate
 Summarize
 Reflect
 Silence

15. Specific Applications

16. Applications: Social Networks
 Helpful?
 Mostly positive/supportive?
 High degree of interaction?

17. Applications: Simple Communication
 Email addresses?
 Skype/ live video interaction?

18. Applications: Video Learning
 On-demand video library of best
practices

19. Applications: Video Upload/Feedback
 Asynchronous video review

20. Applications: Web Access to Child Progress
 Asynchronous data review

21. Take Action

22.  Communication tools that you could add to your repertoire?
 Join a social network?
 Add to your toolbox with video and/or other strategies?
Take Action: What Can You Do?

23.  Creative ideas for using technology to connect with parents and care-
providers
Improved understanding of the basic strategies of active listening and
how this applies when using technology to communicate
Specific applications of the current research regarding technology and
communication with families.
Webinar Focus

24.  National Business Group on Health: Therapies for Children with Autism Spectrum Disorders, May 2012.
 Social Science Journal: Concentration of Adverse Employment Effects on Mothers with Children with Autism, Baker & Drapela, Jan 2010
 Carta, J., Burke Lefever, J., Bigelow, K., Borkowski, J., & Warren, S. (2013). Randomized Trial of a Cellular Phone-Enhanced Home
Visitation Parenting Intervention. Pediatrics, 132(Supplement 2), s167-s173.
 Heitzmann-Powell, L., Buzhardt, J., Rusinko, L. & Miller, T. (2014). Formative Evaluation of an ABA Outreach Training Program for
Parents of Children With Autism in Remote Areas. Focus on Autism and Other Developmental Disabilities, 29(1), 23-38.
 Meadan, H., Meyer, L., Sndograss, M., & Halle, J. (2013). Coaching Parents of Young Children with Autism in Rural Areas Using Internet-
Based Technologies: A Pilot Program. Rural Special Education Quarterly, 32(3), 3-10.
 Nieuwboer, C., Fukkink, R., & Hermann, J. (2014). Peer and professional parenting support on the internet: A systematic review.
Cyberpscyhology, Behavior & Social Networking, 16(7), 518-528.
 Seuss, A., Romani, P., Wacker, D., Dyson, S., Kuhle, J., Lee, J., Lindgren, S., Kopelman, T., Pelzel, K., Waldron, D., (2014). Evaluating the
treatment fidelity of parents who conduct in-home functional communication training with coaching via telehealth. Journal of
Behavioral Education, 23(1), 34-59.
 Sigafoos, J., O’Reilly, M., Seely-York, S., Weru, J., Son, S., Green, V., & Lancioni, G. (2004). Transferring AAC intervention to the home.
Disability & Rehabilitation, 1330-1334.
 Vismara, L, McCormic, C., Young, G., Nadan, A., & Monlux., K. (2014). Preliminary findings of telehealth approach to parent training in
autism. Journal of Autism and Developmental Disorders, 43(12), 2953-2969.
References

25. Leveraging Technology to Build Positive and Effective
Family/Teacher Relationships
Patricia Wright
Vice President, Professional Services: Rethink
info@rethinkfirst.com
rethinkfirst.com