The effectiveness of the family training program provided by being a model with video in helping visually impaired children acquire self-care behaviors

The aim of this study is to determine if Family Training Provided by Being A Model with Video is effective in participant mothers? implementing the steps of teaching self-care and the extent to which visually impaired children realize self-care skills taught by their mothers and which they are effective in sustaining the skills they realize.There are two dependent variables in this study. First one is ?participant mothers? levels of realizing the steps of teaching self-care skills?. The second is ?the status of visually impaired children in acquiring and sustaining the self-care skills taught by their mothers?. The independent variable is the Family Training Program Presented as a Model with Video. Effectiveness of the independent variable on the first dependent variable was tested by using the ?multiple probe design across subjects?; while its effectiveness on the second dependent variable was tested by using the ?multiple probe design across behaviors?. Study participants were comprised of three visually impaired children at pre-school age attending Private Adnan Ağır Special Education School affiliated with the Ministry of National Education during 2009-2010 education years and their mothers.In this study, the Family Training Program Presented as a Model with Video was developed as an instrument for mothers? implementing the steps of teaching their visually impaired children self-care skills. This program was adopted from Cavkaytar?s (1999) The Manual for Teaching Self-Care and Indoor Skills, and was prepared as criterion based supported with video images. The program was presented to mothers in five sessions. While presenting the sessions, the steps such as ?information, showing sample video films and implementation? were followed. The aim of the first session was to help mothers decide on the priority of the basic information regarding self-care skills and the self-care skills needed by children. In session two, the mothers were taught the process of dividing the skill into steps. In session three, the mothers were taught types of hints and how to use the hints. In session four, the mothers were taught how to arrange the environment in teaching self-care skills, to select instruments and to do necessary adaptations on selected instruments, to define teaching time, types of rewards and how to use the rewards. Finally in session five, the mothers were taught which steps to be followed in teaching mothers self-care skills.The ?implementation? stage was carried in two steps including guided implementation and autonomous implementation. At guided implementation stage, mothers with company of the researcher tried to teach their children a skill different than the ones in the video films seen at home, and the researcher gave mothers constructive feedback as necessary. The autonomous implementation stage was about mothers? implementing a self-care skill needed by their children under the supervision of the researcher at home upon completing the program. The data collected at all stages of the research was recorded in video and data record forms.Following findings were noted as a result of the research: Three of the participant mothers could realize only one out of twelve teaching steps regarding teaching children self-care skills before participating in the Family Training Program Presented as a Model with Video. Significant differences were found between the starting level regarding self-care skills needed by all participant children before their mothers implemented the teaching works and the level of their self-care skills after completion of the Family Training Program Presented as a Model with Video. Following the completion of the teaching of self-care skills needed by participant children, the data regarding sustainability was collected at intervals of five days. It has been seen that the data regarding sustainability were at the same level with the data collected at the end of the skills taught. In accordance with these data, it was identified that the children have maintained the skills they have learned.