American Indian PACER Parent Education Program EVALUATION OF THE AMERICAN

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EVALUATION OF THE AMERICAN INDIAN PACER PARENT EDUCATION PROGRAM

FOR NATIVE AMERICAN PARENTS OF DISABLED CHILDREN

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 support. The concept of the parent education field has broadened considerably in the past two decades. At federal, state, and local levels, there are now a variety of ambitious and diverse initiatives aimed at supporting families with young children. (p. 1)

One of the most important of these efforts to support families of disabled/handicapped children is considered to be parent education and support programs that provided skills training to parents in the care of their handicapped children. Indeed, according to Bawden, Ralph and Herrick (1991), disabled children whose mothers receive some form of skill training tend to outperform their

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hildren. Review of the Literature What are the outcomes of programs providing training and education to parents of disabled and handicapped children? As noted in the beginning of this report, there are indications that handicapped children perform better in school when their parents are provided with skills training in terms of taking care of their needs (Bawden, Ralph & Herrick, 1991). Even early research into the effects of parent education programs offer strong support for the effectiveness of many of these educational efforts. For example, Barna, Bidder, Gray, Clements and Gardner (1980) found that parents of developmentally delayed children given training in child care, when compared to parents not given such assistance, were able to assist their child to develop at a faster rate. In more current research Feldman, Case, Garrick, MacIntyre-Grande, Carnwell and Sparks (1992) observed that when the parents of disabled children received training and other forms of assistance in helping them to care for their children, their subsequent behavior greatly improved their child's chances of suffering from health problems associated with lack of adequate care. Finally, based on an extensive review of the literature, Turnbull
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Some common words found in the essay are:
Native American, American Indian, Introduction Powell, American PACER, Ralph Herrick, Incorporated Sharmon, Native Americans, Turnbull Turnbull, Carnwell Sparks, Indian PACER, parent education, , pacer program, native american, , disabled children, american indian, parent training, parents disabled, handicapped children, parent education programs, education programs, parents disabled children, american indian pacer, parent education support,
Approximate Word count = 1798
Approximate Pages = 7 (250 words per page)