Other Forms of Parent Involvement

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Parents As Teachers

Typically developing children learn many skills that children with disabilities do not learn without systematic instruction. For children with disabilities, the casual routines of everyday life at home and in the community may not provide enough practice and feedback to teach them important skills. Many parents of exceptional children have responded to this challenge by systematically teaching their children self-help and daily living skills or by providing home-based academic tutoring to supplement classroom instruction.

Parents can serve as effective teachers for their children, a conclusion supported by numerous research studies and parent involvement projects in which parents have successfully taught their children at home (e.g., Barbetta & Heron, 1991; Leach & Siddall, 1992; Thurston & Dasta, 1990). Research shows that parents can enhance the development of children with disabilities by teaching them at home (e.g., Baker, 1989; Delaney & Kaiser, 2001; Snell & Beckman-Brindley, 1984; Wedel & Fowler, 1984). And the majority of parents who participate in systematic home tutoring programs organized by their child’s school describe it as a positive experience for them and their children. A mother and father wrote: “We really enjoyed teaching M. to tell time, and he enjoyed working with us. He learned so quickly and we were so happy and proud to see the progress he was making. We have two other children. Doing this program allowed us to spend time alone with M.” (Donley & Williams, 1997, p. 50).

Usually, if parents wish to tutor their children at home, they can and should be helped to do so. Properly conducted, home-based parent tutoring strengthens a child’s educational program and gives enjoyment to both child and parent. Guidelines for home-based parent tutoring include the following (Bowen, Olympia, & Jensen, 1996; Hudson & Miller, 1993):

• Keep sessions short.Aim for 15- to 20-minute sessions 3 or 4 days per week.
• Make the experience positive.Parents should praise the child’s attempts.
• Keep responses to the child consistent.By praising the child’s successful responses (materials and activities at the child’s appropriate instructional level are a must) and providing a consistent, unemotional response to errors (e.g., “Let’s read that word again, together”), parents can avoid the frustration and negative results that can occur when home tutoring is mishandled.
• Use tutoring to practice and extend skills already learned in school.For example, use spelling or vocabulary words from school as the questions or items for an adapted board game (Wesson, Wilson, & Higbee Mandelbaum, 1988).
• Keep a record.Parents, like classroom teachers, can never know the exact effects of their teaching unless they keep records. A daily record enables both parents and child to see gradual progress that might be missed if subjective opinion is the only basis for evaluation. Most children do make progress under guided instruction, and a record documents that progress, perhaps providing the parent with an opportunity to see the child in a new and positive light.

It is important for professionals to consider carefully to what extent parent tutoring is appropriate. Not all parents want to teach their children at home or have the time to learn and use the necessary teaching skills—and professionals must not interpret that situation as an indication that parents do not care enough about their children. Teachers must not assume that parents who choose not to participate in home teaching programs are uninterested in their children. Some parents may choose not to do home tutoring because they feel it may compete with other activities in the home and negatively affect their family’s overall quality of life (Parette & Petch-Hogan, 2000).