College of Education Q&A with Dr. Christine Drew
Dr. Drew recently learned that she was awarded a federal research grant ($112K) by the National Institute on Disability, Independent Living, and Rehabilitation Research. Her project, titled “Project PATH - training Parents of Adolescents with Disabilities using TeleHealth,” is a collaborative with the University of Illinois – Chicago and is focused on evaluating a telehealth-based training intervention for parents of adolescents with Intellectual and Developmental Disabilities.
1. Can you specify what you hope to accomplish with the grant?
We will conduct focus groups with Spanish-speaking, Korean-speaking, and English-speaking parents of adolescents with developmental disabilities to understand their parent training needs and their adolescents’ needs across domains (academic, social, adaptive, and challenging behavior). We will develop a parent training manual and then implement parent training via telehealth with families using a tiered model of support.
2. And what was your first thought when you received word your proposal had been funded?
My first thought was very typically me: “Oh, this is what it feels like to be dog that caught the car. Now what?” Luckily, I have excellent colleagues at the University of Illinois - Chicago who have expertise in focus groups for the first-year activities and then I will bring in my telehealth, parent training, and behavioral intervention expertise in the second and third years of the grant.
3. What are some other projects you're working on?
We are very excited to partner with AKEEP (Alabama-Korea Education and Economic Partnership) and AU-RAN (Auburn Regional Autism Network) to recruit parents and families who speak Spanish and Korean in addition to our families who speak English. In the past, Dr. Doris Hill, Maria Gutierrez, and I have supported these parents with access to general trainings on disability, the IEP process, and much more through an ACDD grant. This NIDILRR grant will further that work through an intervention model that will be tailored to each family’s needs and provide direct support.
