The Cascading Coaching Model for Supporting Service Providers, Caregivers, and Children

Abstract

Teaching caregivers to support their young children’s language development is recommended as an effective early language intervention, and caregiver-implemented interventions are recognized as evidence-based. However, as the natural change agents for training and coaching caregivers, early intervention (EI) service providers are in need of professional development to effectively coach caregivers to use interventions with their child. The purpose of this study was to examine the Coaching Caregivers Professional Development program (CoCare PD) in which researchers train and coach EI service providers via telepractice in caregiver coaching, a set of skills useful in nurturing partnerships with families to support caregivers’ use of evidence-based practices with their young children with disabilities. A single-case research study across four EI service providers was conducted and findings support a functional relation between training and coaching EI service providers via telepractice and providers’ use of coaching practices with families on their caseload.