Working with Parents and Teachers of Young Children with TBI

• Teach families, caregivers, and staff about TBI, the healing process, and the long-term challenges many children face (e.g., difficulty with executive functions, behavior, memory, etc.).
• Give both general and specific training on how to intervene with each specific child.
  
  • Encourage families and staff to use a variety of approaches.
  • Teach basics about:
    • Antecedent focused behavior modification (work to prevent problems by changing the situations that precede them).
    • Errorless learning.
    • Routines.
    • Scripts.
    • Escape communication (verbal or non verbal).
    • Changing the environment.
    • Changing the responses of the caregivers and families.
• Make sure families know who to call and how to access support.
• Embed interventions in the child’s daily life, including the classroom. If possible, make these interventions available to all students.
• Help parents and staff teach skills to the child away from the group, initially. Ensure these skills are also taught in the place where the child will need to use them the most (e.g., the classroom, the playground, etc.).
• Plan to use multiple repetitions and a long-term approach to teaching any new skill. Children with TBI typically need many more repetitions than children with other disabilities.
• Work to create agreement among family and school staff regarding boundaries and routines. These will be learned best if the child can use the same rules and routines across multiple settings.
• Work to provide long-term support from professionals knowledgeable about TBI for the family and school. Follow the child across years.
• Offer parents a supportive structure to use when solving problems they face at home (e.g., Aim, Brainstorm, Choose, Do It, Evaluate-ABCD).
• Enjoy watching the child make progress as they grow and develop over time!

Adapted from:

Cataroppa, C. & Anderson, V. (2008). Intervention approaches for executive dysfunction following brain injury in childhood. Pp. 439–462 In Executive Functions and the frontal lobes: A lifespan perspective. Anderson V, Jacobs R, & Anderson P. Eds. Taylor & Francis: London.

Feeney T.J. & Ylvisaker, M.,(2008). Context sensitive cognitive-behavioral supports for young children with TBI: A second replication study. Journal of Positive Behavioral Interventions Vol. 10 (2) 115–128.

Wade, S., Michaud, L., Maines Brown, T. (2006). Putting the pieces together: Preliminary efficacy of a family problem-solving intervention for children with traumatic brain injury. Journal of Head Trauma Rehabilitation Vol. 21 (1) 57–67.