The importance of family-centred approaches and empowering families via coaching in early intervention (EI) becomes increasingly evident. Nonetheless, we have noticed that the integration of the principles of family-centred practice is often more theory than practice. Moreover, there are many misunderstandings surrounding the term coaching. Effective coaching implies defined coaching and relationship strategies to empower the family to achieve their own goals through their own resources and skills. Coaching of parents and supporting the children's development through everyday activities in their social context are resource-saving and very effective ways of supporting families with a child with special needs. Interventions that address the entire family and that meet the individual needs of families may positively impact family well-being and infant development. This means that EI must be customised according to the needs and wishes of the families and should be adapted to the circumstances of their everyday lives. Cultural differences are important in this context, as different cultures may have different routines and attitudes towards EI in daily life. To explore the needs and experiences of parents of infants receiving EI in different countries, we conducted a qualitative study with the example of the family-centred early intervention programme COPCA® in Germany, Lithuania, Spain, Switzerland, and Turkey. COPCA® has a family component and a child development component. Regarding the family component, COPCA® is aimed at the whole family and the family members are involved in the intervention process as active and equal partners. Regarding the developmental component, COPCA® is based on the Neural Group Selection Theory, which emphasises the importance of self-produced, exploratory, varied, motor behaviour and trial and error experiences. The aim of COPCA® is to enable family members to autonomously support the young child in the context of everyday activities. The most important strategy to achieve this goal is the coaching of family members. Based on the results of our qualitative study, we will present basic needs of families with children with special needs, as well as culturally specific needs. COPCA®-coaches will report on their experiences in implementing family-centred coaching in their country. We will show how family-centred practice and coaching strategies can be implemented in different countries. In the discussion with the participants, possibilities for implementing family-centred coaching in the participants' countries will be discussed.
Ziegler et al. (Thu,) studied this question.