Parent/Guardian Support Person
- Consider recommending that parents seek a parent/guardian support person if there are reports of guardians that have high levels of stress. A support person would be helpful for the parent/guardian to navigate multi-system care and are helpful in reducing parental/guardian distress as they can have their own advocate
- Reach out to Parent Advocacy Connection for a Peer Support Person or Other Agency. Depending on the county there may be one available through Family & Children First Council through Parent Advocacy Connection (NAMI) or Greenleaf Family Center
- Also for consideration, it may be beneficial in some cases to discuss therapy options for parents/guardians that is trauma informed and focused on reducing distress and increasing coping skills
Parent/ Guardian Resources:
NAMI Ohio offers free programs, classes, and peer support opportunities for individuals and families affected by mental illness.
Trauma-Informed Approach with the Family
- Consider a trauma-informed approach with the family. Often families whose youth display frequent dysregulating behaviors in the home can display traumatic reactions to these behaviors. It is important to be aware of the family’s culture, how they have or have not discussed the dysregulating behaviors in the home, and how they typically react to them
- If there are reports of traumatic events in the home, it is recommended to offer trauma-informed therapy to the parents/caregivers to reduce distress in the home and increase adaptive problem solving
- Share recommendations with parents so they can be informed and vested in the solutions
- Help parents understand the role they can play in addressing and supporting youth and leverage their influence for change. Trauma informed cares asserts that it is important for the family to have a voice in their child’s care and all recommendations should be reviewed with the family.
- Support the family to understand and use identified supports and strategies that will be used in school or other environments.. Provide the family with the resources or materials to implement these strategies and model the strategies for the family.
Identify Youth Goals, Explore Motivators, and Build Upon Interests
- Empower the youth to identify activities that are of interest to them and that will encourage self-worth, choice, and control
- Explore motivators with the youth and work with the youth to identify their goals
- Focus on the strengths of the youth to help empower, give hope, and create joy in their life
- Make sure the youth has some joy in each day
- Encourage youth to associate difficult or non-preferred tasks with positive experiences
Other Family/Caregiver Support Resources
Family/Caregiver Support and Training:
This website is the premier way for Ohio’s parents, grandparents, caretakers, teachers, and child care providers to access all things related to early childhood in Ohio’s state agencies.
Connecting Families to DODD and Family Resources Webpage:
Connecting Families to DODD and Family Resources Webpage
Growing Family Resilience Video Series and accompanying guide. Both the videos and this guide are intended to support self-study and practice.
Supporting Youth with Intensive and Complex Needs Online Training Series:
The training is designed for direct support professionals who work with multi-system youth who have complex behavioral health needs.
OCALI inspires change and promotes access to opportunities for people with disabilities.
Family and Community Outreach Center:
The Family and Community Outreach Center equips and empowers families with knowledge, information, and resources.
Downloadable guide “What to do When Your Child Exhibits Dangerous Behavior”
Resources Related to Girls and Women on the Autism Spectrum:
Autistic females’ characteristics manifest differently than males and often are misunderstood. OCALI provides free resources for families and teams.
Girls on the Autism Spectrum Autism Internet Module
OCALI Inspiring Change Podcasts:
Episode 5: It’s Different for Girls: A Conversation with Four Women on the Autism Spectrum
Episode 20: The Smell of the Room is a Fire in my Nose: A Conversation on Autism and Trauma with Kim Clairy and Kelly Mahler
Take 5 videos on essential topics for transition and adulthood
ASD SiA gives families and service providers tools to ensure they are equipped to effectively care for, support, educate, employ, or work with individuals on the autism spectrum from early childhood to young adulthood. ASD SiA offers a free online course in evidence-based strategies that can be used in natural environments during the typical routines and activities of toddlers and preschoolers, elementary and middle school students, and high school and transition age individuals.
NAMI Basics is a class for parents and other family caregivers of children and adolescents who have either been diagnosed with a mental health condition or who are experiencing symptoms but have not yet been diagnosed. This course is also available in Spanish, Bases y Fundamentos de NAMI.
Online resources and training to increase awareness of the impact of alcohol-exposed pregnancies, interventions, and diagnostic services for families affected by Fetal Alcohol Spectrum Disorders.
Aubrey Page is a foster parent, educator, and advocate specializing in supporting children with FASD and other disabilities. Links to her blog, social media groups, online courses, and free online resources can be found on the = Change Starts Here Collaborative website.
Ohio Guidestone is located in northwest Ohio and provides individual counseling for children, adolescents, and families affected by FASD as well as family education and support. Double Arc Center for FASD is now part of Ohio Guidestone.
Kim Clairy is a licensed Occupational Therapist who has unique expertise in understanding the intersection of Eating Disorders, Sensory Processing Dysfunction, and Autism. Diagnosed with all three, she struggled under a healthcare system uneducated on autism. Now in recovery, she shares her expertise by educating others through didactic and experiential seminars/trainings nationwide.
OhioKAN is a new statewide program designed to help kinship and adoptive families navigate and connect with all available resources, locally and statewide.
The Ohio Grandparent/Kinship Coalition (OGKC) is an organization consisting of kinship caregivers, kinship caregiver advocates and agencies throughout Ohio promoting education, advocacy, and connections to services for families.
Offers online, statewide, support groups for kinship caregivers in Ohio, meeting weekly on Zoom. Web site provides information on the group and has a resource hub for caregivers.
Kinship Caregiver Virtual Support Group- YouTube video playlist
Grandfamilies.org serves as a national legal resource in support of grandfamilies within and outside the child welfare system.
Generations United works with a network of member organizations, partners, and stakeholders committed to improving the lives of children, youth and older adults through intergenerational collaboration, public policies, and programs.
KYC offers resources for families, friends, and allies of LGBTQ+ youth.
As an individual member plans for their good life, it is important for them to be able to express their own vision, ideas, and understanding of life experiences and events. However, families often have valuable information, perspective, and opinions, and need a way to express and organize ideas and information as they support and plan with their family member. The family perspective materials are designed to help families articulate their vision of what they want/don’t want for their family members, identify and access key supports, and have conversations with their family members and supporters about planning for a good life now and in the future.
AACAP website provides concise and up-to-date information on issues that affect children, teenagers, and their families.Topics include specific diagnoses as well as a wide range of situations and concerns.
Triple P is an evidence-based program that meets the needs of families with children ages 0-16, providing help and guidance when they need it. It aims to create supportive family environments, and to prevent, as well as treat, behavioral and emotional problems in children and teenagers. Parents can access materials online or find a local accredited provider.
The purpose of the Resilience Project is to help children and young adults who have experienced some sort of trauma.
A Companion Guide to Growing Resilience
This companion guide is an e-book where each page is packed with learning materials centered on the path toward resilience for the entire team.
An educational resource for coordinated, family-centric behavioral health care. Developed for both health providers and families to better understand the unique challenges associated with a child’s specific diagnosis and managing symptoms.
The Wellness Project is a collection of resources and practices to support and enhance your individual and organizational wellness and resilience. It includes a holistic system of wellness activities such as reading, listening, watching, cooking, connecting, moving, breathing, and resting.
YouTube channel of the Change Starts Here Collaborative, a group of advocates and educators for neurodiversity focused on educating families and professionals about neurodiversity.
Parent/Caregiver Peer Support and Advocacy Resources:
The Autism Society of Ohio is a resource to families living with/loving individuals with ASD. Families can connect with other families, participate in Autism Support Groups, or obtain information related to ASD.
PAC is a NAMI Ohio grassroots program that offers trained Parent Advocates with lived experience who reflect the cultural and ethnic make-up of the families they serve.
Find your local NAMI Chapter
The Arc of Ohio helps families connect with an advocate to navigate the intellectual and developmental disability system. An advocate can answer questions on everything from waivers, to guardianship, transition services, county boards, the appeal process, and much more.
Ohio Legal Help provides plain language legal help information, interactive self-help tools and connections to local legal and community resources that empower Ohioans to resolve their legal issues.
Disability Rights Ohio (DRO) provides legal advocacy and rights protection to a wide range of people with disabilities. This includes assisting individuals with problems such as abuse, neglect, discrimination, access to assistive technology, special education, housing, employment, community integration, voting and rights protection issues.
Substance Use:
START is a children-services-led initiative that has been shown, when implemented with fidelity, to improve outcomes for both parents and children affected by child maltreatment and parental substance use disorders. The model is specifically designed to transform the system of care within and between child welfare agencies and substance use disorder (SUD) treatment providers and other family serving systems and agencies. START uses a family centered approach and services that help the child, parents and the entire family.
Safety & Law Enforcement Interactions:
NAA’s Meet the Police safety initiative is a free, downloadable toolkit for individuals with autism, parents or caregivers who are concerned about their loved one’s safety in the community. The purpose of this program is to help enhance the quality of interactions between individuals with autism and members of law enforcement.
Service and Care Coordination Resources:
Intensive Home-based Treatment (IHBT) is a mental health service designed to meet the needs of youth with serious emotional disturbances who are at risk of out-of-home placement or who are returning home from placement.
Ohio Family and Children First (OFCF) is a partnership of state and local government, communities and families that enhances the well-being of Ohio’s children and families by building community capacity, coordinating systems and services, and engaging families. OFCF's vision is for every child and family to thrive and succeed within healthy communities.
OhioRISE is a specialized managed care program for youth with complex behavioral health and multisystem needs ages 0-20 who are eligible for Ohio Medicaid.
An educational resource for coordinated, family-centric behavioral health care. Developed for both health providers and families to better understand the unique challenges associated with a child’s specific diagnosis and managing symptoms.
Book recommendations:
The Explosive Child: A New Approach for Understanding and Parenting Easily Frustrated, Chronically Inflexible Children by Ross W. Greene
Guided Growth: Education and Behavior Interventions for Children and Teens with Fetal Alcohol Spectrum Disorders and Early Trauma by Ira Chasnoff, MD, Ronald Powell, Ph.D.
Straight Talk about Psychiatric Medications for Kids by Timothy E. Wilens and Paul G. Hammerness
Transforming Trauma in Children and Adolescents: An Embodied Approach to Somatic Regulation, Trauma Processing, and Attachment-Building by Elizabeth Warner, Heather Finn, Alexandra Cook, & Anne Wescott
The Resilience Project: Finding Happiness Through Mindfulness, Gratitude and Empathy by Hugh Van Cuylenburg
What Happened to You?: Conversations on Trauma, Resilience, and Healing by Bruce D. Perry, MD, PhD, and Oprah Winfrey
The Bipolar Child (Third Edition): The Definitive and Reassuring Guide to Childhood's Most Misunderstood Disorder by Demitri Papolos, M.D., and Janice Papolos