TASP Training: Trauma, Parenting and Intellectual Developmental Disability: An Intra and Interagency Puzzle

As we evaluate parenting skills in parents with IDD, it is important to acknowledge and address trauma history. This training for mental health professionals provides an overview of some of the puzzle pieces of trauma, parenting, and IDD, and puts them together in the form of a coherent treatment approach. You will gain perspective on what is possible and what is needed, and how to offer appropriate coordinated preventative and treatment services to address the needs of parents with IDD.

Join us for this half-day, live, interactive training on Zoom with Dr. Virginia Cruz, an expert in the field of supported parenting who has worked in the area of developmental disabilities for over 30 years.

Learn more on this webpage by clicking the tabs below, or view the TASP TRAUMA TRAINING INFORMATION PACKET

This program is Approved by the National Association of Social Workers (Approval # 886862992-2622) for 4 continuing education contact hours.  CEUs can be purchased as an add-on to your ticket when you check out.

Next training: coming fall 2023

Email us to get on the wait list or set one up for your agency!

Here’s what people are saying about the training:

A very effective training for professionals with a wide array of experiences.   There is something to take away for everyone whether you have little experience with parents with ID or have been doing the work for years.  Whether you are a trained and licensed clinician or have learned through experience in the field, there is something for you in this training.   This is something important as a practitioner and as someone who selects training for a diverse team.

 

The training is definitely making me think more critically about how we’re currently supporting folks in our program (adults with I/DD), and inspiring me to get creative with natural supports. Thank you for an amazing training!

 

I really appreciated the breakdown and the strengths versus challenges as we talked about how trauma can impact the parent and the child.

The Training is Limited to 30 Participants! 

This is a live, interactive online training via Zoom.

Date:

Dates vary, check above for upcoming dates and availability.  If you’re interested in scheduling a private training for your agency/state, email us at info@achancetoparent.net

Cost:

Cost for this training is $150.  There is a group agency rate if you’re interested in scheduling something for your agency/organization.

ABOUT THE TRAINING

A disproportionate number of families with parents with IDD end up in the child welfare system (research shows 40-80% of children are removed from the care of parents with IDD), often because preventative and supportive services were not offered to them earlier when they needed the help. No matter what door you, as a provider, walk through each day– the Developmental Disability door, the Public Health door, the Child Welfare door, the Mental Health Door, the Health and Wellness door, the Early Intervention/Education door and/or the Advocacy door (or another door!) – we need each other, and we need to work together. More importantly, parents with IDD need us, as providers, to step up and offer appropriate coordinated preventative and treatment services.

Most adults with IDD have experienced trauma at least once in their lives (and often much more), and we know that untreated trauma often results in cognitions, behaviors, and emotions that may negatively impact parenting. As we evaluate parenting skills in parents with IDD, it is important to acknowledge and address trauma history. If you acknowledge the trauma and treat the trauma, you can change the trauma behavior and increase the effectiveness of the parent program, thus increasing the quality of life for the survivor.

The intersectionality of intellectual disability, trauma and parenting is complex and just beginning to be studied, with few people having formal training in all three areas, and few, if any agencies, having this as their sole focus. Parents with IDD who have experienced trauma and need parenting support can enter through any of the above-mentioned doors. The

question is “does the agency recognize this population-specific need”? The segmented expertise is all out there like puzzle pieces spread across a table, but few agencies have attempted to put the pieces together. We can do better.

This training provides an overview of some of the puzzle pieces of trauma, parenting, and IDD, and puts them together in the form of a comprehensive coherent treatment approach. In the four hours, you will gain perspective on what is possible, what is needed, and what puzzle pieces are still missing, and need to be further developed. You may not get all the answers, but you will get the start of sustainable change.


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You can share this web page, or find the Training Information Packet HERE.

Meet Our Trainer