JCPSLP Vol 17 No 3 2015

also acknowledged that families who had not previously documented information about their children in a CHR found it more difficult to fill it in. Educators also spoke of difficulty accessing services for the children they had identified as being “at risk”. Part of this difficulty arose from parents not seeking assessment (e.g., acknowledging the concerns but then adopting a “wait and see” approach) (McAllister, McCormack, McLeod & Harrison, 2011). Dana highlights her experiences of trying to get assistance for concerns: “Some families getting them to actually follow up on an assessment, that’s usually the hardest point”. Educators found this challenging as they understood the importance of these services for these children, especially as the Australian Early Development Census data are showing that some children are starting school “at risk” or “developmentally vulnerable” in some areas (Department of Education, 2013).

it gave us both an understanding across the board of what we’re talking about. (Melody) Educators also spoke of how the information on developmental norms assisted their conversations, noting parents could read, see, and refer to the norms themselves. Further, the educators reported that by incorporating service ideas, developmental milestones, and up-to-date information into one resource, the South Australia CHR made this information easily accessible. This feature was valued by the educators. I felt confident because I had research to back me up and on hand and that’s accepted and published... (Maria) Finally, the educators reported experiencing more favourable outcomes with parents through using the CHR. Educators reported parents were more relaxed, accepting, and willing to engage in conversations and work in partnership with them when the CHR was available, compared to their previous experiences prior to the study. The ease in which parents sort of came on board with and were quite happy to be become involved … it’s always a difficult conversation ... I think the book … made it easier for us to talk to parents ... we were just using the book as an extra tool and that I think made the parents more relaxed, in dealing with it. (Jenny) Overall the educators identified that the CHR supported them in having conversations with parents. This supports Hamilton and Wyver’s (2012) conclusion that “CHRs may offer an important, but underutilised communication tool” (p. 76). The milestone charts in the CHR completed by parents provided a good platform to talk about development, identify gaps apparent in the charts, and facilitated links with educator observations. These findings also highlight that the CHR and its information may act as a talking point and assist in facilitating effective communication. Additionally, the findings support Hamilton and Wyver’s (2012) suggestion that professionals who work with children/families may play a significant role in supporting parents to understand such information. Challenges While educators identified that the CHR provided valuable support for communicating with parents, they also identified challenges (parents, practical issues, and services) with these conversations. Participating educators acknowledged that communicating concerns about a child to parents is difficult. However, they identified that parents’ reactions (e.g., denial), non-engagement, limited knowledge of development, and limited time for conversations also presented challenges. It’s always very hard, it’s very difficult [sic], but you have to remind yourself that you’re doing it for the right reasons [sic], that it is to help the child and you want the child to have success at school, so that’s always a good thing to keep in mind … but it is very difficult [sic], especially if they’re quite in denial, yeah yep, and if it’s the first time they’ve heard it you know, it might be the first time that they’ve even had any, sort of, anybody suggest something might not be quite right and that can be quite a shock to some parents. Yeah it’s difficult. (Dana) The time, that that was the most difficult thing … Because these people have very busy lives. (Leah) Educators highlighted practical issues such as needing to encourage some parents to use all components of the CHR provided (e.g., prompting parents to fill in specific sections prior to the conversation, adding more detail such as dates and examples than just ticking boxes). Some educators

Challenges

Parents

Practical issues

Services

Figure 2. Categories within Challenges (theme 2)

Parents’ reactions, practical issues, and availability of services meant that conversations between educators and parents were complicated. McCormack and Easton (2014) reported similar findings in a study that explored the beliefs, values, and attitudes of educators and speech-language pathologists in the management of communication disorders. Family reluctance/denial, feeling unsupported by other professionals, and being unsure how to help a child and manage his or her frustration/behaviour were the challenges identified for these educators. The similarities in findings across studies suggest educators commonly face these issues and that further exploration and support for educators is warranted. Limitations Several factors need to be considered when examining the results of this study. First, results from this qualitative study cannot be generalised beyond these eight participants, as they may not represent the experiences and perspectives of other educators in other ECEC services or organisations. Second, bias may have occurred as the participating educators were from the same organisation and volunteered to be involved in this study. Participating educators self-selected parents/families with a child whom they were concerned about to engage in this study. Bias may have occurred as educators may have approached parents/families for recruitment to the study whom they believed would be open to participation and to the conversations the study The information gained from this study provides insight into how CHRs could be utilised to assist with early identification of developmental difficulties, specifically communication difficulties. The results show that, for these participants, the CHR was a valuable tool for supporting conversations between educators and parents about developmental concerns. Participants also spoke of the challenges of parents’ reactions, engagement, and time availability. These challenges highlight areas for possible future support for was centered around. Conclusions

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JCPSLP Volume 17, Number 3 2015

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