07/23/10 - Routines-Based Interview Certification Institute draws attendees from 11 states

Twenty-three early intervention and early childhood special education professionals will be trained July 26-30 at the Routines-Based Interview (RBI) Certification Institute hosted by the Center for Child and Family Research at Siskin Children’s Institute. Institute researcher, Robin McWilliam, Ph.D., will conduct the weeklong training. Institute researcher, Amy Casey, Ph.D. BCBA, who coordinated the event, will serve as a coach. This year’s Institute welcomes professionals from 11 U.S. states and from Saipan, the largest island of the U.S. Commonwealth of the Northern Mariana Islands.

Now in its third year, the Institute is seeing new attendees from states represented in previous years. “That implies that the RBI has been adopted in the state, and they are building their capacity for statewide training by sending additional people—with representatives from different districts, for instance—to get certified as interviewers and trainers,” Casey said.

These professionals are learning how to conduct the RBI, which is used in many states and countries to help early interventionists collect information about activities that occur in a family’s typical day and the roles family members play during those activities. The information is used to identify a child’s abilities and determine intervention goals to improve the family’s quality of life.

Twenty-five local families are volunteering to be interviewed to give the professionals hands-on experience. For certification, the professionals are required to practice the RBI for several months after the weeklong training and will submit videos of themselves conducting an interview .

Previously certified professionals will serve as coaches to this year’s participants. Casey said, “This is beneficial for this year’s participants because they have certified individuals giving them feedback. It’s also good for the coaches because they have a chance to spend another week getting questions answered and receiving suggestions about the feedback they are providing to others. They get to learn how to coach someone to conduct the interview.”

For more information about the RBI Certification Institute, visit siskin.org/rbi.

ABOUT SISKIN CHILDREN’S INSTITUTE
Siskin Children's Institute makes life better for children with special needs and their families. Founded in 1950, the non-profit organization achieves its mission locally and nationally through four initiatives: education, outreach, health care and research. The Institute provides early childhood education where children with and without disabilities learn together; family support and professional development programs; developmental behavioral pediatric health care; and innovative research in early childhood development and special education. For more information about Siskin Children's Institute, visit www.siskin.org.