Caregiver ECHO: A Model for Delivering Virtual Behavior Management Education to Families of Children with Developmental Disabilities

Abstract

AbstractChildren with developmental disabilities are at high risk of challenging behavior, yet their families experience consistent barriers to affordable parent education in behavior management. The present study tested the efficacy of a caregiver-focused Extensions of Community Health Outcomes program for delivering virtual parent education and support to familial caregivers of children with DD in behavior management. A pre-post quasi-experimental design was used to evaluate the effect of Caregiver ECHO on caregiver participants’ (n = 30) knowledge of behavior modification strategies, self-efficacy in managing challenging behavior, empowerment, and negative emotional reactions to challenging behavior. Participating in Caregiver ECHO resulted in significant increases in caregiver knowledge, self-efficacy, and empowerment, and significant reductions in certain negative emotional reactions to challenging behavior. The Caregiver ECHO model offers advantages over other parent education programs in that it emphasizes peer learning, active problem-solving, and community building as core components of its approach while using low-cost methodologies.