FAMILIES: THE VITAL LINK - A VIDEOTAPE SERIES RESPONSIVE TO DIVERSE FAMILIES OF INFANTS AND CHILDREN WITH DISABILITIES

THE GOAL OF THIS PROPOSAL IS TO DEVELOP AND DISSEMINATE VIDEOTAPE PRODUCTS THAT WILL SIGNIFICANTLY INCREASE FAMILIES' KNOWLEDGE AND UNDERSTANDING OF THE DEVELOPMENT OF THEIR CHILDREN WITH DISABILITIES OR WHO ARE AT-RISK FOR DISABILITIES. THE VIDEOTAPES WILL BE DEVELOPED IN THE CONTEXT OF FAMILY-CENTERED AND CULTURALLY COMPETENT CARE AD WILL PORTRAY EFFECTIVE STRATEGIES FOR ACCESSING EARLY INTERVENTION SERVICES. FAMILY MEMBERS WILL GAIN KNOWLEDGE ABOUT WAYS TO ENHANCE THEIR CHILD'S DEVELOPMENT AND HOW TO BE EFFECTIVE ADVOCATES FOR THEIR CHILDREN. PHASE I WILL BE DEVOTED TO RESEARCH RELATED TO 1) EXISTING MEDIA FOR FAMILIES, 2) INFORMATION EXCHANGE THROUGH INFORMAL AND FORMAL NETWORKS, AND 3) SPECIFIC TOPICS ON CULTURAL DIVERSITY, NEEDS OF FAMILIES WHOSE PRIMARY LANGUAGE IS NOT ENGLISH, FAMILY-CENTERED CARE, AND FAMILY EMPOWERMENT STRATEGIES. THE METHODS FOR THIS RESEARCH INCLUDE DIRECT INTERVIEWS WITH FAMILIES FROM CULTURALLY AND GEOGRAPHICALLY DIVERSE CIRCUMSTANCES. THE MAJOR USERS OF THESE PRODUCTS WILL BE FAMILIES OF CHILDREN WITH DISABILITIES; MEMBERS OF THE COMMUNITY AT-LARGE WILL ALSO BE USERS OF THE PRODUCTS. DISSEMINATION EFFORTS WILL BE DESIGNED TO BE AS BROAD-BASED AS POSSIBLE, UTILIZING LIBRARIES, MEDICAL AND HEALTH INFORMATION NETWORKS FOR CONSUMERS, AND NETWORKS WITH GRASSROOTS LINKS TO COMMUNITIES.