CARES - The Center for Autism Research, Evaluation and Service

An Integrative Parent Education Program for Parents of Children with Autism Spectrum Disorders

Caroline White, M.A.

Our Goal

Parents often find that they are overwhelmed and confused after their child receives an Autism Spectrum diagnosis. Specifically, parents have reported difficulty conceptualizing how the diagnosis is made and what it means, understanding what legal rights they and their children have, sifting through the myriad of available interventions, dealing with their child’s challenging behaviors, helping their child to learn, and maintaining a sense of family normalcy. It is our goal to provide families with the support they need at such a sensitive and stressful time in their lives, and to educate them about the aforementioned issues. Our hope is that by providing parents with such an integrative educational package as this, the quality of life that families experience will be greatly enhanced.

What Does the Program Involve?

CARES offers a total of nine parent education workshops. As a family is referred to CARES, parents will be required to attend a total of five parent education workshops. Three of those workshops will be mandatory topics, while the other two may be self-chosen topics. We encourage families to participate in as many workshops as possible. Attendance to parent education workshops is not limited to only CARES clients, non-clients are also welcome. The various two- to three-hour workshops will be held numerous times throughout the month, and will be offered at rotating morning, afternoon, and evening timeslots. A calendar of scheduled workshops can be found here. At least three or more parents must be registered for workshops to take place. All workshops will be led by a Master’s or Doctoral level professional that is well versed in psychology, education, and the field of Autism Spectrum Disorders. Additionally, as part of the educational program, parents will be asked to complete short quizzes regarding the material they have been presented. To register for an upcoming workshop, please contact Natalie Pinto, (858)444-8823, x1200.

Available Parent Education Workshops (** indicates mandatory workshop topics)

**An Introduction to CARES Services and Parent/Child Rights, and an overview of Typical Child Development and Pervasive Developmental Disorders (Caroline White, M.A. and Adelaid Gonzalez, M.Ed.)

This workshop will orient families to the numerous services available through CARES as well as the sources of funding for various types of services. Additionally, the workshop will present an overview of typical child development and the diagnostic information related to Pervasive Developmental Disorders. The goal of this workshop is to educate parents about the rights available to both them and their children, and to provide families with a clearer understanding of their child’s diagnosis and needs.

**An Overview of Applied Behavior Analysis (ABA), Discrete Trial, and Behavior Management Strategies (Adelaid Gonzalez, M.Ed.)

This workshop will provide families with a basic understanding of the theory and methodology behind empirically validated interventions for children with Autism Spectrum Disorders. Furthermore, the goal of this workshop is to help families understand the various functions of maladaptive behavior, and teach them more effective ways to manage challenging situations.

**Autism and Family Stress (Caroline White, M.A.)

This workshop will provide families with an overview of the current research literature on families of children with special needs. The goal of this seminar is to foster understanding and awareness between family members, and to provide strategies to buffer the family stress that often results from having a child diagnosed with an Autism Spectrum Disorder.

Pivotal Response Training (Adelaid Gonzalez, M.Ed.)

This workshop aims to provide families with a basic knowledge of the methodology behind Pivotal Response Training, and a foundation of skills necessary to help foster communication, play, and social skills in their child with an Autism Spectrum Disorder.

Alternative Communication and Verbal Behavior (Adelaid Gonzalez, M.Ed.)

This workshop aims to provide parents with a foundation of knowledge in Verbal Behavior Theory, the Picture Exchange Communication System (PECS), augmentative communication devices, and the skills necessary to foster functional communication in children with Autism Spectrum Disorders.

Self-Help Skills: Toilet Training and Food Aversion and Autism (Caroline White, M.A.)

The goal of this workshop is to provide families of children with Autism Spectrum Disorders with an overview of helpful strategies to teach toilet training and work with children who are picky and/or resistant eaters.

Social Stories and Social Skills Training (Caroline White, M.A.)

This workshop will educate parents about Social Stories interventions and their use in teaching social skills and managing problem behaviors in children with Autism Spectrum Disorders. Furthermore, parents will be provided with the skills necessary to write their own Social Stories and foster appropriate social skills in their child.

Inclusive Education for Children with Autism (Adelaid Gonzalez, M.Ed.)

The Individuals with Disabilities Education Act (IDEA) states that children with disabilities should be taught in the least restrictive environment. Students with disabilities are increasingly being educated in general education classrooms, as disability advocates and parents increasingly seek inclusive educational placements for children with disabilities. However, research indicates that successful inclusive education is difficult to implement. This presentation will address research related to inclusive education, controversies surrounding inclusion, and considerations and reservations concerning inclusion.

Biomedical and Pharmacological Interventions in Autism (Caroline White, M.A.)

This workshop will provide parents with a brief overview of the use of medication to manage the symptoms of Autism, the available biomedical interventions in the Autism community, and what research has to say about them.

Workshop Fees

For those families that are already clients of CARES, direct fees will not be charged. However, the number of hours spent in workshops will be deducted from the total number of hours allotted through their School District or Regional Center contract. For non-CARES clients, a fee of $40 per family will apply to each initial workshop that is attended. Subsequent workshops will be offered at a discount of $5 per workshop (for example, a second workshop will cost $35 and a third will cost $30). Non-CARES clients who choose to attend at least four or more workshops will be charged $25 per class. Payment for workshops will be due at the time of service on the first session.

** Please note: CARES maintains a cancellation policy that families must provide at least 24 hours notice if they are unable to make it to a parent education workshop. If 24 hours notice is not provided, hours will be deducted/billed from the total number of contracted hours regardless of attendance. Furthermore, families will be required to complete their mandatory training sessions at a later date, and will again be billed via contract hours accordingly.

Research

CARES is currently conducting a research study on the efficacy of the Integrative Parent Education Program. In addition to typical participation in the mandatory education workshops, those who choose to be research subjects will be required to come in one hour early to their first workshop, and stay one hour late after their final mandatory workshop in order to fill out questionnaires. Research participants will be awarded one free movie ticket per participant for their time and efforts. If you are interested in furthering the research in the field of Autism by participating as a research subject, please contact Caroline White, M.A. at (858)444-8823, x1225.