Behavioral training for parents of mentally retarded children: one-year follow-up

Ninety-five families who had completed a 20-week behavioral-training program for parents of retarded children (Heifetz, 1977) were re-contacted 14 months later. An in-home interview and several questionnaires assessed maintenance of child gains and parents' knowledge of programming principles, as well as the extent and quality of continued and new programming, perceived obstacles to home teaching, and perceived effects of the training program. Parents had retained their knowledge of programming principles, and the children had retained their original skill gains. Many families had initiated some teaching of new skills, although few parents carried out regular formal teaching sessions. Almost one-half of the families were classified as having continued to employ useful or very useful teaching. The main perceived obstacles to home-teaching were limitations in time, in the child's learning ability, in the parent's teaching ability, and in professional support. The implications of these follow-up results for future training programs were discussed.