Social and Behavioral Sciences Commons^™

Peer-Mediated Family Support Project: Evaluation Of Changes In Family Quality Of Life, Preethy S. Samuel, Elizabeth Janks, Nia S. Anderson, Michael Bray, Christina Topolewski, Sharon Milberger

Developmental Disabilities Network Journal

The Family Quality of Life (FQOL) approach represents a paradigm shift from fixing to supporting people with intellectual/developmental disabilities (I/DD) by changing the focus from the individual to the family and highlighting strengths rather than deficiencies. Aging family caregivers of individuals with I/DD often encounter obstacles, including accessibility, acceptability, and affordability of services. Little is known about best practices to support aging families of adults with I/DD. Understanding how a state-wide peer-mediated family support project implemented in this study helped improve the FQOL of aging caregivers is important in broadening participation of other caregivers in these types of programs. To …

The Promising Practice Of Cultural Brokering Support With Culturally Diverse Families Of Children With Developmental Disabilities: Perspectives From Families, Yali Pang, Dana V. Yarbrough

Developmental Disabilities Network Journal

Background and Purpose: The Parent to Parent model of support has been found to be effective with supporting families of children with DD in navigating complex systems, gaining emotional support, building positive resilience, sharing ideas and learning problem solving skills. Parent to Parent ties can be particularly strong when cultural capital is involved. This study presents a cultural brokering initiative embedded in the evidence-informed Parent to Parent support model that could be a promising practice to support culturally diverse families of children with DD.

Methods: This study used a mixed methods approach to examine the practice and outcomes of a …

Family Caregiving During The Covid-19 Pandemic, Sharon Milberger, Christina Marsack-Topelewski, Elizabeth Janks, Preethy S. Samuel

Developmental Disabilities Network Journal

Background: The Coronavirus Disease-2019 (COVID-19) pandemic has taken a disproportionate toll on people with intellectual and developmental disabilities (I/DD) as well as their family caregivers. This is especially true for older family caregivers, many of whom assume dual or compound caregiving roles, and provide care as they undergo their own aging experiences. This research brief presents findings from family caregivers of adults with I/DD to better understand how the COVID-19 pandemic has affected their lives. Method: Thirty family caregivers from across the state participated in a one-hour special COVID-19 virtual discussion group. All participant identifiers were deleted from a …

Engaging Parents In System Design To Reduce Loss To Follow-Up, Dana V. Yarbrough, Kathleen Watts, Daphne Miller, Susan Murdock

Journal of Early Hearing Detection and Intervention

This article provides an overview of Virginia’s 1-3-6 Family Educator Project involving the induction and integration of parents of children who are deaf or hard of hearing as leaders in systems change, and the investment of Virginia’s Early Hearing Detection & Intervention program in the project. The article describes the role of the 1-3-6 Family Educators and their success in collaborating with audiologists and hospitals, helping parents get timelier rescreenings of infants who did not pass the newborn hearing screening, and providing peer-to-peer support to parents. Details are provided about the 1-3-6 Family Educator Project to allow other states to …