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What the Joneses Taught Me

The Gallaudet Family-Centered Early Education Program prepares specialists to work with deaf or hard of hearing children and their families. This program focuses on the importance of collaboration, understanding family culture, and promoting family well-being. Students participate in family matching activities to learn from families and gain valuable insights. The program emphasizes professionalism and confidentiality.

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What the Joneses Taught Me

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  1. What the Joneses Taught Me Carrie Davenport, Center for Outreach Services, Ohio School for the Deaf Barbara Raimondo, Parent Consultant, Gallaudet University Marilyn Sass-Lehrer, Professor of Education, Gallaudet University EHDI Conference 2007 Salt Lake City, Utah

  2. Gallaudet University Family Centered Early Education Program (FCEE) • Prepares specialists to work with children who are deaf or hard of hearing from birth through five years of age and their families. • M.A. degree in Deaf Education with Specialization in FCEE • Special Education/Deaf and Hard of Hearing and CED Certification

  3. Barriers to Family-Centered Approach • Tradition of child-focus services • Professional attitudes • Lack of administrative support • Lack of family interest or skills • Professionals lack training • Lack of clear understanding • Roush, J., Harrison, M., Palsha, S. (1991). Family-centered early intervention: The perceptions of professionals. AAD.

  4. Family-Centered is…. • Focus on children within the context of their families • Recognizes family supports, strengths, and cultural perspectives • Enhances family well-being and promote competence • Commitment to equal collaboration with families and their communities • Research underscores the effectiveness of family-centered approaches on child outcomes

  5. Gallaudet University Family Centered Early Education Program (FCEE) • Course Work • Field Experiences • Parent Panels • Workshops and Seminars • Conferences • Family Match

  6. Family Match Students/Families • What is Family Matching? • Overall Goal: For students to learn from families through the eyes of the family • Students • Families

  7. Family Matching Student Objectives • At the end of the 30 hour/three semester match period, student will be able to: • Describe family interactions during a “typical” day • From observing family’s perspective, identify professionals’ approaches and actions that support/do not support families • Reflect on the importance of families’ culture, community, and other factors and their relevance to families’ decision-making • Reflect on own actions, values, and beliefs to assess and plan growth as a professional

  8. Family Matching Requirements • Time: 10 hours per semester over a three semester period/30 hours • Logs: Students maintain logs of all visits • Journals: For feedback from Parent Consultant. Description of activity, perceptions, and other impressions • Confidentiality:High level professionalism and confidentiality

  9. Preparing Students • Parent Consultant • Experienced Students • Family Therapist • Active Listening Skills • Role Plays • Confidentiality Issues • Professionalism

  10. Carrie’s Experience • Family members • Hearing loss • Activities • Family Culture and attitudes

  11. What Carrie Learned • Don’t judge - let people make their own decisions • Be flexible - expect the unexpected! • Listen • I don’t need to have all the answers • Explore my own family and its impact • Family culture is specific to that family

  12. Student Comments • “I enjoyed getting to know families on a personal level . . .” • “I feel like part of the entire experience is experiencing what parents of think of professionals and how they treat them. Part of it is knowing how to respond to families – how to be supportive – not biased – how to be encouraging and not rigid . . .” • “ . . . This was the best part of the FCEE program. Real life experiences are the best way to learn.”

  13. Student Comments • “[The child’s] mom said she was very impressed tonight. She said that this is the first time she’s seen him really try and have a conversation. He was talking to me all night, explaining his toys, noticing it was dark and telling me that when it gets dark he takes a bath and then goes to sleep, etc. Mom said this is very new and she’s never seen him do it before. I was very impressed with the level of conversation as well, especially for a 2 year old.” • “All I can say about getting into the minivan and watching the parents strap the kids in is WOW. It seemed to take a lot of energy to get going in the morning.” • “Sometimes the issues involve communication and sometimes they have nothing to do with communication and have everything to do with the fact that the child is a two year old.”

  14. Parent Comments • (From a family that had several students) “My children loved all of the students . . .” • “It was good to have someone around who understood deafness.” • “I was hoping she would be more direct with me in asking any questions she may have in her mind about anything . . .” • “We plan to stay in touch.”

  15. Student Comments “This has been a great semester where I have had a lot of different experiences with families and I feel like there is so much to be learned from each individual family. As a teacher your initial tendency is to want to help the family “fix” what they are doing wrong. It’s ironic, the more time I spend with the family the more I respect what they are doing and the decisions that they are making. Do I believe that the decisions are always the best? No. Do I think they are always developmentally appropriate? No. But it works for that family, and the child is happy and healthy. What else could you want from a family?”

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