Parent Education in Early Intervention

Parent education as a key component of early intervention has been greatly deemphasized during the past 15 years, we believe, because of the perceived inconsistencies between the purposes and goals of parent education and family-centered approaches to early intervention. We argue that research indicating that parent involvement is critical to early intervention effectiveness and that parents want information about specific ways they can help their children's development supports the need for parent education in early intervention. We propose that the early intervention field address the concerns expressed about the lack of sensitivity in parent education approaches, develop strategies for parent education that are consistent with contemporary family service concepts, address the need for explicit instruction of service providers in parent education strategies, and conduct research on the immediate and long-term effects of parent education on children and families.