Question
Why do we care about coaching in early intervention?
Answer
When I consider why we care so much about coaching in early intervention, I turn to the literature to help explain it. Salisbury and Copeland (2013) examined how parents and children are impacted when coaching is implemented in a particular, high-fidelity manner targeted toward early intervention. What they found was that when coaching was delivered with strong fidelity, parents reported improved self-efficacy and felt more empowered to help their own child. They also perceived improvements in their child’s motor skills and social skills. That kind of observable progress is incredibly motivating for families because they can see that what they are doing is making a real difference. For children, the study showed significant gains across six developmental domains, which further supports the idea that coaching can positively influence outcomes and fuel parents’ intrinsic motivation to continue.
This Ask the Expert is an edited excerpt from the course, Using Adult Learning Theory to Enhance Coaching in Early Intervention, Pam Smithy, MS, OTR/L, Rhonda Mattingly Williams, EdD, CCC-SLP.
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