The Parent School Details
The Parent School
The Parents School opened its virtual doors in the Fall of 2020 with the initial installments of a) course curriculum, b) practicum, c) case studies, and d) library resources. The Parents School will address a range of topics that are essential for families to understand in order to help their late talking child and to help them become critical consumers of services. These topic areas include:
- Talking and Language
- Academics, Learning, and Achievement
- Social Skills and Temperament
- Adaptive Skills and Behavior Management
- Service Delivery and Support Models
- The Cognitive Tool Kit
Courses and content areas will be added to the school every 3 months.
A Collaborative Tool
The Parents School also provides a collaborative tool to enable parents and therapists to work together. The Parents School curriculum provides a scaffold of topics that you and your therapist can work through together. Research shows us that parents who are “coached” by a specialist learn strategies and apply them with exceptional success! It makes sense. Parents are not only capable of learning many techniques and concepts, they are also uniquely and lovingly present in so many authentic and motivating learning opportunities for their child. Parents are the best expert on their child. The parent is the one with the child over time. It is essential for the parent to have an overall understanding of their child’s needs going forward. A specialist can join with parents to help make these optimum outcomes happen! When parents and specialists team up and learn from each other, the best results are realized. Indeed, the critical role of involved parents is widely becoming recognized, as can be evidenced in the extensive support of parent-specialist training programs across the world. The Parents School endeavors to support this vital collaboration between parents and specialists. The curriculum will provide parents valuable information, both applied and scholarly. However, when The Parents School curriculum is utilized as a common scaffold for learning and application, it is most powerful.
Curriculum and Pricing
The Parents School’s curriculum consists of four resource areas.
1. Coursework: Coursework refers to the actual classes themselves. Individual courses are organized under larger topic areas. These topic areas are:
- Talking and Language
- Academics, Learning, and Achievement
- Social Skills and Temperament
- Adaptive Skills and Behavior Management
- Service Delivery and Support Models
- The Cognitive Tool Kit
Initially, The Parents School will launch with ten courses. Additional courses will be added every three months. There are no hard and fast rules concerning the number or order of courses taken. Parents can choose the courses they feel will serve them best.
COSTS: Courses are purchased individually for a cost of $18 per course. Once purchased, the family has unlimited views of the course.
The Parent School
2. Practicum: The Practicum component is where the information learned within the courses is put into real everyday use. This is done with practical examples, explanations, video, instructions, suggestions, or other applicable resources, all aimed at taking the knowledge gained from the courses and translating it into productive, enjoyable, real, everyday scenarios that will serve the parent and benefit their child. Practicum modules may have particular coursework as a prerequisite. The prerequisite will be delineated on the practicum module.
COST: The Late Talkers Foundation is striving to keep all resources from this site as accessible to families as possible. In that attempt, we hope to keep the Practicum modules themselves free of charge. Enrollment in perquisite courses will be required. However, once enrolled in the course(s) the family will be allowed free access to the associated Practicum module(s) free of charge.
3. Case Examples: Case examples are presented every four months. The examples will introduce a child and their story. The examples presented will vary. They may be a preschooler or a middle-schooler or a high schooler. They may share some similarities with your own late talker or be very different. The examples and stories provide not only an excellent opportunity for us to think critically and apply what we have learned; they also offer a forum for thought-provoking discussion with fellow parents, as well as teachers and therapists.
COST: The Case Examples will be available to families who have enrolled/purchased a course from The Parent School. The Late Talker Foundation will reassess access to Case Examples in one year to determine the best way for Case Examples to serve families.
4. The Library will be an on-line resource that guides you to
- Research Articles
- Chapters/Resources
- Useful Programs
- Other Practical Resources
COST: The Library will be available to families who have enrolled/purchased a course from The Parent School. The Late Talker Foundation will reassess access to The Library in one year to determine the best way for The Library to serve families.
Additional Features
Everyone learns differently. Each of us has our own strengths, areas of interest, learning needs, and helpful strategies that we have come to find supportive. A goal of the Late Talkers Foundation’s Parent School is to provide a variety of unique supports for families who are walking the journey with their late talker. Several unique supports are made possible within the format of The Parent School. These include:
Pod or Buddy Groups: This is a means for families enrolled in The Parent School to find each other and create groups. You may be interested in a group comprised of several families with shared interests, or perhaps you prefer to connect with just one other person. It is up to each family’s choice. Pods or Buddy Groups have the capacity to chat, provide group support, and other membership controls. It is the hope that this will provide camaraderie and support for families.
Private Tutoring Sessions: This feature allows an additional level of personal support. For example, this feature would allow you and your specialist to file sharing and have the opportunity to go over your lessons in detail. Private tutoring sessions would allow discussion on the course and how it applies to your child's specific learning profile.
Transcripts: This feature provides a certificate for the classes you have accomplished. The transcript communicates your body of knowledge to your child’s teachers or therapist and provides a shared knowledge base from which parents, teachers, and therapists can communicate and work in partnership. Teachers and therapists can also access the content on The Parent School if they wish. This shared point of reference creates a transformational partnership between parents and the persons on their team. It is a win-win for all, and especially a win for the child.
