Evaluating Parent Training

Programmes that help parents become better teachers of their developmentally disabled children are now quite popular. Parent training reflects the Zeitgeist of parent involvement, and evaluations have been encouraging. Yet many questions remain. This paper notes 11 ways to address the basic question: Does parent training work? It also suggests that outcomes should be evaluated against a cost-effectiveness standard. The author argues that, even though service oriented programmes may not have the resources to carry out extensive research, they can nevertheless make important contributions by carrying out simple programme evaluations. They can monitor how many and which parents join the programme, complete it, and implement programmes at home. They can assess gains in child skills and parents’ knowledge of teaching principles. They can also assess the social validity of the programmes, asking parents about what they want and their satisfaction with what they got. The paper illustrates evaluation approaches and measures, while briefly reviewing the parent training literature.