Hot Docs: Helping Our Toddlers, Developing Our Children’s Skills
HOT DOCS is a parent training program designed for parents, family members, and professionals raising and working with children ages 2-6 years. It was originally developed at the University of South Florida and thousands of parents in Florida benefited from the training to date. The School Psychology program at UMass Amherst is now bringing this program to schools in Western Massachusetts. This program is appropriate for caregivers and parents of all children, including those with disabilities. HOT DOCS training was designed to help parents understand what causes their child’s challenging behaviors and provide them with a simple and effective problem-solving approach to decrease problem behaviors and increase appropriate behaviors, improving family’s well-being and decreasing parent stress.
Training involves 7 weekly 2-hour interactive and hands-on classes. Group discussions provide a supportive environment for sharing and brainstorming, and an opportunity to meet other parents. Homework activities allow caregivers to practice the skills at home and receive feedback from group leaders. Every week, we introduce a new special play activity and a new parenting tip, review the skills from last week and discuss participants’ experiences implementing those techniques, and teach useful strategies for recognizing the function (or the “why”) of the problem behavior and preventing it in the future.
Sessions have been scheduled for the following dates: 5/08 (8:45-11:30), 5/15, 5/22, 6/5, 6/12, 6/19, 6/26 at 9:00 a.m. to 11:00 a.m. at the ARPS Middle School in the Family Center.
HOT DOCS Session Topics:
Session 1. Early Childhood Development, May 8, 2017
Session 2. Routines, Rituals & Development, May 15, 2017
Session 3. Development and Behavior, May 22, 2017
Session 4. Preventions to Guide Development, June 5, 2017
Session 5. Developing New Skills, June 12, 2017
Session 6. Developing New Responses, June 19, 2017
Session 7. Reducing Stress with HOT DOCS, June 26, 2017
Reserve your spot today!