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JCPSLP Volume 19, Number 3 2017 141
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supporting children with special needs to be at the centre
of transition efforts; (b) the value in connecting parents with
one another in order to establish support networks; and (c)
the importance of helping parents to understand the range
of educational options available to their child and to feel
confident in advocating for their preferences.
Yet despite the reported benefits of the program, some
parents continued to feel anxious regarding their child’s
transition from the PrEPIC program to the first year of
schooling. To this end, it is important to contextualise the
transition period within the broader journey that parents
travel in raising children with social-communication and
learning disabilities. For speech pathologists and other
professionals seeking to support children and parents, the
results suggest the importance of establishing longer term
working relationships that ensure that support is available
as and when it is needed. Presumably, the level and nature of
support will fluctuate over time, but the fact that it remains
available may act as a stabilising force at a time of substantial
uncertainty as children and parents make the transition.
Limitations
In considering the findings and implications for practice, it is
important to note several limitations to the study. First,
consideration should be given to the fact that we examined
a pilot program in one educational setting. Both sample size
and resource constraints limit the generalisation of both the
findings and program to other settings. Second, the fact
that formal measures of the children’s skills were not
available for inclusion in the study means that only broad
descriptions of changes, based on parent report, are
included and no attempt to differentially link these
outcomes to children with different diagnoses is made.
Furthermore, our focus in this study was on exploring
parents’ views and experiences of the program, rather than
a formal evaluation of the outcomes. Accordingly, when
considering the findings, it is important to note that we have
reported outcomes, as perceived by parents, along with the
factors that they felt contribute to the perceived success of
the program. There is clearly a need for future research to
evaluate the outcomes of similar attempts to support
children and parents during the transition to school in a
holistic manner, including the use of experimental research
designs.
Conclusion
The results of this study suggest that timely and
comprehensive support can lead to positive outcomes for
children and their parents during the transition to school.
For speech pathologists, other allied health professionals,
and educators working to support children and families, the
findings point to the likely value of taking an individualised
approach to each family, encouraging open and effective
communication between parents and teachers, and
connecting parents to support one another. Furthermore,
the findings of this study appear to highlight the importance
of speech pathologist and other professionals taking a
long-term approach to supporting parents on their journey
raising children with social-communication and learning
difficulties that includes the greater span of time prior to,
during, and following the children’s transition to school.
Acknowledgement
We would like to thank the parents and teachers who
participated in this study and acknowledge the support of
the Victorian Department of Education and Early Childhood
Development.
David Trembath is a senior lecturer and NHMRC ECR Fellow at
the Menzies Health Institute Queensland, Griffith University,
Australia. Elizabeth Starr is a professor in the Faculty of
Education at the University of Windsor, Canada.
Correspondence to:
David Trembath
Menzies Health Institute Queensland
Griffith University
email:
phone: