Topic: Diné Parents Taking Action for Autism: A Community-Engaged Program Adaptation and Pilot Trial
The Parents Taking Action (PTA) program is an evidence-based parent education and training program delivered by parents to other parents that have a child with autism and who share the same cultural identity. Few parent education and training programs currently exist for Indigenous parents of children with autism including those who identify as Diné (Navajo, meaning “The People”). This project adapted and piloted the PTA program for Diné parents of children with autism. We did this using a community-engaged approach addressing the following aims: (1) conduct interviews with 15 Diné parent/guardians of children with autism to generate new knowledge on their lived experiences including preferences for PTA, (2) adapt PTA for Diné families of children with autism, and (3) conduct a pilot trial of the adapted PTA program to determine its feasibility and acceptability with 10-15 Diné parents of children with autism ages 2-12 years. We will discuss our project key findings and learnings including those related to the community-engaged approach.
Learning Objectives:
1. Describe factors affecting access to autism services for Diné families.
2. Discuss how PTA was adapted for Diné families.
3. Summarize PTA Diné pilot trial findings on program fidelity, feasibility, and acceptability.
4. Explain how communities were engaged throughout the PTA Diné project.
About the Presenters:
Candi Running Bear is Dinè (Navajo) from St. Michaels, AZ. She earned a PhD from Northern Arizona University in the Curriculum and Instruction program with an emphasis in early childhood culturally and linguistically diverse exceptional education. Her research interests are in early childhood special education and Indigenous populations. She has a BS in psychology from Brigham Young University, and an MA in special education from the University of Arizona. She currently works as an assistant professor at Western New Mexico University – Gallup Center.
Olivia Lindly is from Eugene, Oregon. She earned a PhD from Oregon State University in public health with an emphasis in health promotion and health behavior, an MPH from Johns Hopkins University concentrated in child and adolescent health, and a BA in psychology from Reed College. Her research program focuses on modifiable drivers (e.g., health literacy, policy) of health equity for diverse children with disabilities including autism and their families; and building family, clinician, and systems capacities to help optimize health for this population. Over the past 12 years, she has had the opportunity to collaborate on numerous projects focused on reducing healthcare disparities for autistic individuals. She is an assistant professor in the Department of Health Sciences at Northern Arizona University.
This is a Zoom webinar.