Parent training techniques: Effects of lecture-roleplaying followed by feedback and self-recording

Abstract

A group parent training program was applied in an analog situation to five mothers of learning disabled children to assess its effect upon three classes of verbal responses (i.e. reinforcements, commands and questions). The training was conducted in two phases. The first phase, lecture-roleplaying, employed written material, lectures, and roleplaying as training techniques. The second phase, feedback, utilized post-interaction feedback from experimenters, self-recording from audiotapes, and recording of other parent-child interactions. Behavioral measures after the first phase showed small changes from baseline, while the same measures taken after the feedback phase revealed significant differences for each of the target behaviors. Behavioral changes observed at the end of training were maintained over a 30-week follow-up. The results suggest that, although other training techniques may increase parental knowledge of how to respond, immediate feedback and self-recording appear necessary to ensure the acquisition of these responses.