| It is crucial for parents to be part of their child's educational planning. Spanish-speaking parents especially often find themselves overwhelmed on how to best support their child who suffers from Emotional Disturbance. Research suggests that parent's involvement improves children's academics and social-emotional needs. To meet this need, the author created a parent training program for Spanish-speaking parents with children identified with Emotional Disturbance. This training program was reviewed by a panel of experts familiar with the assessment process and then edited to incorporate their feedback. It was field tested with Spanish-speaking parents of children with Emotional Disturbance. The training manual focused on research-based strategies, more specifically parents were taught cognitive behavior type strategies they can implement with their child. Participation in the "Que Es ED?" program can lead to better academic and social-emotional outcomes. The pre and post results demonstrated increased knowledge for parents of children with Emotional Disturbance. Future research needs to expand on long-term programs that support these parents. Overall, results from both the expert review and professional review indicate that the parent training manual is an appropriate resource for Spanish-speaking parents. The author intends to publish this training program in order to make it readily available to parents. In addition, the author plans to perform further research regarding its effectiveness with parents. |
