How parents, siblings can become teachers for special needs children
Now, MSU research provides the first scientific evidence that the online training can improve communication in families with children with complex communication challenges. The findings are published in the journals Communication Disorders Quarterly and Infants & Young Children . Sarah Douglas, a former special education teacher and principal investigator on the project, developed the training to fill a gap. While online training exists for parents of children with autism, none had been created for the broader population of special needs children with limited verbal abilities. "That's why I'm doing this," said Douglas, assistant professor in MSU's Department of Human Development and Family Studies. "I want families to feel like they have some control over the future of their child. That they have some control over how to navigate this world that not very many people know how to navigate, and they don't have to sit around waiting for an exper...