Our CP-NET child cohort has identified that young children with Cerebral Palsy (CP) under 6 years of age participate infrequently in community activities (less than one time per month) and this pattern continues into school-age. This study focuses on evaluating how well an intervention called ‘Solution-Focused Coaching’ helps parents to support their young child with CP to increase their community participation.
Parents play a key role in encouraging their child’s participation. Studies suggest that involving parents in programs help older children with disabilities become more involved but less is known about what works to help support young children to participate in their communities. This research will test a parent coaching program called Solution-Focused Coaching for Pediatric Rehabilitation (SFC-Peds) to see if it helps parents support their child’s community participation.
What is solution-focused coaching?
Solution-focused coaching is an approach used in pediatric rehabilitation that helps children with disabilities and their families work towards meaningful goals by focusing on strengths and solutions rather than problems. The coach works with the family (parent and child) to determine what is already working well and build on those successes. This practical method is meant to empower families and build problem-solving skills.
What are we learning?
- Will parents find the program useful and stick with it?
- Does this coaching help children with CP participate in more community activities?
- What do parents think about the program?
Why is this important?
Many young children with CP face barriers to community participation, such as physical challenges, lack of support, or limited opportunities. By helping parents set realistic goals, this program could improve participation habits early in life.
How will the study work?
We will recruit children with CP (ages 2–5 years old) and their parents into the study. Parents will receive SFC-Peds training with a trained clinician. Parents may participate in the program virtually and will engage in 5 sessions, setting one to three community participation-related goals with their child. Participation levels will be tracked before, during, and after the program. We will also invite parents will share their experiences in an interview.
What will this study teach us?
Results from this study will help us determine if SFC-Peds is feasible and helpful to parents to support their children’s participation to achieve their participation goals. The results from this study will help to inform larger studies.