Basic Communication Skills Ten Guidelines for Communicating with Parents and Families Dr. Karen McFerrin

Basic Communication Skills

Ten Guidelines for Communicating with Parents and Families

Dr. Karen McFerrin

04/19/23 Free Template from www.brainybetty.com 2

Advance OrganizerPresentation: Strategies for Communicating

with ParentsPresenter: Dr. Karen McFerrin• Introductions• Purpose of the presentation: To discuss basic

communication skills and strategies for working with parents, especially parents of children with disabilities

• Basic Communication Skills (examples/nonexamples) (Knackendoffel et. al, 1992)

• Ten Guidelines for Communicating with Parents and Families (Heward, 2006)

• Resources• Questions and Answers• Evaluations


Basic Communication Skills

*Listen Actively (Examples/Nonexamples)

Includes: • Body posture • Eye contact• Facial expression*Use Nonverbal & Verbal

Encouragers*Minimize Distractions


What to Focus Your Mind On• Focus on the content of the

person’s verbal statements.

• Focus on the Person’s feelings.

a. Tune into the speaker’s voice tone;

b. Tune into the person’s nonverbal behavior.


Make Reflecting Statements

• Paraphrase the Speaker’s Words;

• Reflect the Speaker’s Emotions;

• Pause at least 5 seconds after making a reflecting statement.


Ask Questions

• Ask Open-ended Questions

Examples:

“What would you like to discuss today?”

“What solutions have you tried?”

“What seems to be the problem?”

“What successes has your child experienced recently?”


Close-Ended Questions

Examples:

• “How many assignments is Peter missing?”

• “Do you agree with the proposed changes?”

• “Are you feeling discouraged about this situation?”


Indirect Questions

Examples:

“I wonder how often this has happened?”

“I wonder what might have happened to cause this behavior.”


Clarifying Questions

Examples

• “You’ve stated that John has a bad attitude. What does he say or do that indicates to you that he has a bad attitude?”

• “What’s an example of how Jane reacts when you tell her NO?”


Summarizing

• How to Summarize:

1. Begin with an initial phrase that introduces the summary.

Examples:

“Let’s go over what we’ve discussed so far.”

“Let’s review what we have covered.”


How to Summarize (cont.)• 2. Make the Summarizing Statement.

• 3. Ask the Person to Confirm or Reject the Summarizing Statement.

Example: “Did I include everything?”

4. Listen Actively.

5. If Necessary, Ask the Person to Correct the Summarizing Statement.

Example: “What have I omitted?”


Basic Communication Skills ActivityDirections: Please practice using the Basic Communication Skills.

• Listen to a (i.e., teacher, student, administrator, parent) problem.• Paraphrase the Problem in your own words.• Ask an Open-Ended Question to clarify the problem.• Ask a Closed-Ended Question to clarify the problem.• Make a Reflecting Statement about the problem.• Make a Reflecting Statement on the Person’s Emotion.• Ask the person the following questions: Is this correct? Do you want to add/change

anything that I said?• Make a Summarizing Statement.

To assist you in your Problem Summaries, I have designed a table for you to follow. • 2. Paraphrase the Problem (Retell the story/problem in your own words)• 3. Ask an Open-Ended Question• Ask a Clarifying question.• 4. Ask a Closed-Ended Question• Ask an indirect question.• Ask a Clarifying Question• 5. Make a Reflecting Statement• 6. Make a Reflecting Statement on the Person’s • Emotion• 7. Ask the person the following questions: • a. “Is this correct? • b. Do you want to add/change anything? • 8. Make a summarizing statement.



Ten Guidelines for Communicating

with Parents and Families

Regardless the mode of parent-teacher

communication or differences in cultural

experiences and language backgrounds

of the participants, the following

suggestions are valuable guidelines for

educators in their interactions with

parents and families.


1. Don’t assume that you know more about the child, his/her needs, and how those needs should be met than his/her parents do.

If you make this assumption, you will usually be wrong and, worse, will miss opportunities to obtain and provide meaningful information.


Collaboration & Support NOT GOOSE BUT GEESE

You may be interested in knowing that science has discovered why geese fly in a V formation. It was learned that as each bird flaps its wings, it created an uplift for the bird immediately following. The whole flock adds at least 71% greater flying range than if each bird flew on its own.

• (This is true for people too. They can go a lot further with support of others.)


2. Junk the jargon.

Educators who use technicalterminology will have difficultycommunicating effectively withparents (or with anyone else, forthat matter). Speak in clear,everyday language and avoid thealphabet soup of special education

(e.g., FAPE, IFSP, IEP).


Collaboration & Teaming

• Further, whenever, a goose falls out of formation, it suddenly feels the drag and resistance to trying to go it alone and quickly gets back into formation.

(Some things are just done

easier within a group.)


3. Don’t let assumptions and generalizations about parents and families guide your efforts.

If you are genuinely interested in what a father or mother feels or wants, ask. Do not assume a parent is in the x, y, or z stage and therefore needs a, b, or c.


Collaboration & Support

• When the lead goose gets tired, it rotates back in the wing so that another bird can fly point.

(It pays to take turns doing the hard jobs.)


4. Be sensitive and responsive to the cultural and linguistic backgrounds of parents and families.

The information and support services desired by families from different cultural and ethnic groups vary, and majority educators must work to be sensitive to those differences

(Harry et al., 1999; Lynch & Hanson, 2004).


5. Don’t be defensive or intimidated.

Unless you are one, you cannot ever really know what being a parent of a child with disabilities is like. As a professional teacher, you do know something about helping children with disabilities learn. That’s your job; it’s what you do every day with lots of children. Offer the knowledge and skills you know without apology, and welcome parents’ input.


Collaboration & Encouragement

• The geese honk from behind to encourage those in front to keep up their speed.

(Words of encouragement for those in front of you will always take an organization a lot further.)


6. Refer families to other professionals when needed.

As a teacher, you interact with parents

and families in an effort to improve the

child’s educational program. You are not

a marriage counselor or a therapist. If a

parent or family member indicates the

need for non-special education services,

offer to refer him/her to professionals

and agencies qualified to provide them.


Collaboration & Caring Community

Finally whenever a goose becomes sick or injured, two other geese will fall out of formation and help the sick one until it recovers.

Thank goodness for our geese!


7. Help parents strive for a realistic optimism.

Children with disabilities and their families benefit little from professionals who are doom-and-gloom types or who minimize the significance of a disability. Help parents analyze, plan, and prepare for their child’s future (Giangreco et al., 1998; Turnbull & Turnbull, 2006).


8. Start with something parents can be successful with.

For many parents, involvement in their child’s education program is a new experience. When parents show an interest in helping their child at home, don’t set them up to fail by giving them complicated materials, complex instructions, and a heavy schedule of nightly tutoring. Begin with something simple that is likely to be rewarding to the parent and the child.


9. Respect a parent’s right to say “No.”

Most educators are eager to share what they know and to help families plan and carry out shared teaching goals. Professionals sometimes “fail to recognize” the more basic needs of families. One need may be that a professional support person is not needed!....There comes a time when parents and other members of the family wish to be left alone. (Howard et al., 2005. p. 124).


10. Don’t be afraid to say “I don’t know.”

Sometimes parents will ask questions that you cannot answer or request services you cannot provide. The mark of a real professional is knowing the limits of your expertise and when you need help. It is okay to say, “I don’t know.” Parents will think more highly of you.


Heward, W. L. (2006). Exceptional children: An introduction to special education (8th ed.). Columbus, OH: Merrill/Prentice Hall.

Knackendoffel, A., Robinson, S. M., Deshler, D. D., & Schumaker, J. B. (1992). Collaborative problem solving: Teaming techniques series. Lawrence, KS: Edge Enterprises, Inc.


Resources

• http://www.exceptionalparent.com• http://www.beachcenter.org• http://www.nichcy.org• http://www.prenhall.com/heward• http://www.specialchild.com/index.html• http://www.assistivetech.net• http://www.cec.sped.org

Additional Print Resources• Gorman, J.C. (2004). Working with challenging parents of

student with special needs. Thousand Oaks, CA: Corwin Press.

• Lynch-Quinonez, C. (2000). Bless my special child:

Prayers and insights for parents. Liguori, MO: Liguori Press.

• Naseef, R. A. (2001). Special children challenged parents: The struggles and rewards of raising a child with a disability. Baltimore, MD: Paul H. Brookes

Publishing Co.• Simons, R. (1987). After the tears: Parents talk about

raising a child with a disability. Denver, CO: The Children’s Museum of Denver, Inc.

• Wilmshurst, L., & Brue, A.W. (2005). A parent’s guide to special education. New York: AMACOM.



Post Organizer

• 1. State the five basic Communication Skills?

• 2. Describe two strategies for communicating with parents.

• 3. How can you apply this information now?

Documents

Basic Communication Skills Ten Guidelines for Communicating with Parents and Families Dr. Karen McFerrin