07/27/09 - Workshop teaches how to set goals for children with disabilities

Date: July 27, 2009
Contact: Seth Seymour
423.648.1709
seth.seymour@siskin.org

Workshop trains professionals on how to set goals for children with special needs
Participants from 15 states include state education officials and early interventionists

CHATTANOOGA, Tenn. — Researchers from Siskin Children’s Institute are training early childhood education professionals from around the country this week on how to set goals for children with special needs and their families.

Twenty-one professionals from 15 states, including state education officials and early interventionists, are attending the second annual Routines-Based Interview (RBI) Certification Institute, which is today through Friday at the Institute.

The professionals are learning how to conduct the RBI, which is used in many states and countries to help early interventionists collect data about children and their families. The information is used to identify children’s abilities and set their families’ priorities.

The RBI aims to improve the family’s quality of life through three goals:

• develop a list of goals for the child and family that help the child better participate in daily activities;
• assess how the child participates in daily activities (engagement), what the child can do on his or her own (independence), how the child interacts with others (other family members, teachers, neighbors, etc. (social relationships), how satisfied the adult family members are with their daily activities (quality of life); and
• provide emotional support to families.

The weeklong workshop is led by Robin McWilliam, Ph.D., and Amy Casey, Ph.D., researchers at the Siskin Center for Child and Family Research at the Institute. Lee Ann Jung, Ph.D., an associate professor in special education at the University of Kentucky, will also present.

“Our goal is for these professionals to take what they learned back to their states and provide trainings to early interventionists who work with families,” Dr. Casey said.

Twenty-two local families are volunteering to be interviewed to give the professionals hands-on experience. Before receiving their certification, the professionals are required to practice the RBI for several months after the weeklong training.

Past participants consider the certification beneficial. “I plan to keep perfecting my skills and knowledge of the RBI, and hope to continue using it as much as possible,” said Charla Myers, an early interventionist with the state of Missouri, which implemented the RBI statewide last year.

Plans are under way for next year’s certification workshop. For more information about the RBI, visit the RBI tab under “Research” at www.siskin.org.

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.

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