Caregiver Coaching in Early Intervention
An evidence-based approach for Early Intervention Speech Therapy
Caregiver coaching is a well-established evidence-based approach that therapists use in Early Intervention Speech Therapy sessions with parents and caregivers.
Keep reading to learn more about caregiver coaching in Early Intervention, as well as useful resources and related topics.
What is Caregiver Coaching?
Caregiver coaching in Early Intervention is an approach where the therapist works with the parent/caregiver to help them learn and develop knowledge and skills that support their child’s development in a variety of areas.
In the coaching approach, the therapist and caregiver are collaborative partners. The caregiver is encouraged to be directly involved in supporting their child, identifying strategies they want to work on, and reflecting on what works. The therapist facilitates the adult’s learning through the use of Adult Learning Methods and specific coaching strategies.
The aim of the caregiver coaching approach in Early Intervention is on increasing the caregiver’s confidence and competence in their skills, so they can support their child’s development across various settings and routines between sessions.
Why is Caregiver Coaching Important?
As Early Intervention therapists, we know that children spend more time at home with their parents and caregivers than they do in therapy with us. This means that there is a lot of time when children could be exposed to opportunities for learning that would potentially be missed if you’re not using a coaching approach.
By using a coaching approach, we can support parents and caregivers to identify opportunities for communication and to use skills and strategies that help develop their child’s skills between Speech Therapy sessions.
Benefits of Caregiver Coaching in Early Intervention:
Coaching parents/caregivers to use strategies and techniques to support language and communication skills is associated with improved outcomes for children and increased use of supportive strategies by caregivers (Ref: Roberts et al., 2019).
Caregiver coaching has been found to improve caregiver-child relationships (Ref: O’Toole et al., 2021).
Coaching caregivers to integrate strategies and skills into their everyday routines naturally increases the dose and intensity of input/services a child receives (Ref: Romano et al., 2022).
What does Caregiver Coaching Look Like in Practice?
There are a range of approaches you can use when delivering caregiver coaching sessions (for example, the Early Childhood Coaching Model by Rush and Shelden, the TMCR Approach by Roberts and Kaiser, 2014, or the SSOOPPRR approach by FGRBI). All of these approaches follow a similar set-up and all involve the use of Adult Learning Methods and coaching strategies to support adult learning.
In practice, a typical caregiver coaching session in Early Intervention may follow this structure:
- Starting the session with information sharing- getting updates and discussing progress.
- Then, leading into the session by talking about what they did between sessions, and encouraging the caregiver to demonstrate this with the child. This is an opportunity for observation.
- You may focus on introducing a new skill or strategy, and this is often done via direct teaching and demonstration.
- A key part of effective caregiver coaching is caregiver practice. Encouraging the caregiver to practise a new skill or strategy in the session with the child. The therapist can then provide feedback and guidance as needed, to support accurate implementation.
- Throughout the session, there are opportunities for problem solving and reflection. It is important that caregivers are encouraged to take the lead during these discussions, to support their learning and understanding of strategies.
- Sessions should always end with a joint plan. This is where the therapist and caregiver discuss and decide what the caregiver will practise with the child between sessions, as well as what they plan to do at the next visit. This plan then becomes the starting point in your next caregiver coaching sessions.
Want to Feel Confident Delivering Caregiver Coaching Sessions?
Learn More About Caregiver Coaching
Resources to use in your Caregiver Coaching Sessions
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