20262
Developmental Trajectories Diverted: Empowering Frontline Community Childcare Providers to Support Children's Social Communication Development through a Coach-the-Coach Model
Early detection and rapid mobilization of individualized supports are critical components of ensuring that children at risk for developing ASD obtain their fullest developmental potential. The National Research Council (2001) found that early detection and 25 hours a week of active engagement promoted optimal success for young children with ASD in kindergarten. Knowledge of red flags for ASD and transactional supports to promote active engagement, for example, those derived from the SCERTS framework (Prizant et al., 2005), is vital for providers working in the early childcare setting. Translating this knowledge into practice through collaborative learning experiences with early childhood professionals (ECPs) allows front-line providers to alter disadvantaged developmental trajectories of young children at risk for ASD. Learning “how to” coaching and collaboration strategies is needed for successful collaborative learning experiences between ECPs and childcare providers (Friedman & Woods, 2012). However, there is a paucity of research on the effectiveness of coach-the-coach models with ECPs.
Objectives:
This project aimed to improve collaborative coaching proficiencies within Georgia’s Bright from the Start (BFTS): Department of Early Care and Learning (DECAL) professionals via implementation of a novel, three phase coach-the-coach model focusing on increasing knowledge of normative development and detection of red flags for ASD, and using transactional supports to promote active engagement in early childcare settings.
Methods:
This study tracked the progress of 12 ECPs from BFTS: DECAL (5 Infant Toddler Specialists and 7 Inclusion Coordinators) coached to coach childcare providers using a collaborative coaching model. Through the use of coaching and collaboration strategies to promote adult learning, coaching centered on increasing active engagement in the early childcare setting using transactional supports. Coaching by Community Interventionists was conducted in person, via mobile coaching, and through video conferencing across three, 12-week phases with decreasing frequency and intensity to build independence and capacity. Effectiveness of Phase I of the coach-the-coach model was assessed by 1) rate of support and coaching provided by ECPs during video-recorded independent classroom sessions with childcare providers throughout the coaching period; and 2) number of children identified at risk for ASD.
Results:
The rate of coaching and supports provided by ECPs during Phase I significantly increased from baseline (t11=1.774, p=0.05). In addition, 12 children have been identified with social communication concerns, indicating an increase in awareness of social communication milestones and red flags for ASD.
Conclusions:
These data indicate that the current coach-the-coach model results in increased support and coaching provided by ECPs and an increased awareness of red flags for ASD. Through the coaching-the-coach model, ECPs learned important aspects of coaching and collaboration, used transactional supports to promote active engagement, and increased awareness of red flags for ASD. This enabled them to improve their coaching proficiency of others, thus exponentially multiplying the number of children who receive necessary developmental supports.