Sara Payne, OTS

Parent involvement in child therapy is crucial in order for the carry over of what we work on in the clinic to translate into the home and the child’s everyday life. Occupational Therapy Student, Sara Payne discusses the importance of coaching caregivers and including them in the therapy process.

Caregiver Coaching and Parent Involvement in Child Therapy:

Parents are the key players in Pediatric Therapy. Though your child receiving therapy is where most of our focus lies, your child cannot incorporate the skills they learn at therapy without you. You are the expert on your child, what they are receptive to, and how to best convey new concepts to them. We are the experts on evidence-based therapeutic techniques, theories, and interventions that work best to develop specific skills that help children become more functional for their age. The purpose of coaching is to combine these two expertise to provide an optimal therapeutic experience for your child. Coaching is highly inclusive for caregivers and differs from just a short chat at the start or end of your child’s session.

We understand that the challenges and barriers caregivers experience, the emotional rollercoaster of receiving a new diagnosis, dealing with routine changes, and the confusion that can be experienced when dealing with a new aspect of parenting are overwhelming. The last thing we want is therapy services to feel like another hurdle. Your feelings directly contribute to your child’s well-being. So know that sharing with your therapist when you are experiencing these emotional challenges will allow your child’s therapy to be structured in a way that treats both your child’s challenges and yours.

Benefit of Caregiver Coaching:

While productive in your child’s treatment, therapy at the clinic is only 1 or 2 sessions each week. It is only a short time in an environment structured specifically for play and stocked with various toys that aid in therapeutic services. Practice at home will help your child progress and grow towards their goals. Ideally, the met goal will translate to your child being more functional at home, resulting in better family quality of life. Caregiver coaching is a thorough method of incorporating you into your child’s therapy

Step One: Collaborate

The first step in caregiver coaching is the joint collaboration between caregivers and therapists to discuss your child’s and your family’s needs, set goals, and discuss interventions. In this process, the therapist wants to know about your child’s therapeutic needs and is striving to understand caregiver needs and responsibilities at home. This helps set the expectations for the therapist of how much time your home life would allow for integrating therapy techniques away from the clinic. This is also where you can ask questions, find resources, and understand therapeutic expectations for you and your child.

Step 2: Observation

The second step is observation, which can be you observing the therapist or the therapist observing you. The therapist may use a modeling technique, where they model specific strategies you can try at home. Remember that therapy is a process and that some things will work and others won’t.

Step 3: Action

The third step in coaching is action. After observing the therapist, they may ask you to try the technique they modeled. Or they may ask you to try it at home and report how it went in your child’s next session. The therapist may try to incorporate things you have noted that work at home with the therapeutic techniques that apply to your child’s needs.

Step 4: Reflection

Step four is reflection on existing or new strategies that have been established as practical, evidence-based, and productive in your child's treatment. What is working, and what is not? What is working but may be too much for your family’s schedule to implement successfully regularly? What is not working but might after more training?

Step 5: Feedback

The last step, step five, is feedback. Feedback from the therapist about child and caregiver performance and possible next steps. Or Feedback shared by the caregiver that could enhance their learning and understanding of therapeutic techniques or their child’s response to treatment.

Remember that caregiver coaching benefits you and your child’s progression in therapy and can help your child reach goals in a shorter time.

Caregiver coaching and parent involvement in child therapy