A US programme aims to help the 12-14 per cent of children in Ireland who have social, emotional or behavioural deficits. Sylvia Thompsonreports
Picture the scene: a young child refuses to turn off the TV and come to the table for dinner. To avoid a tantrum, the parent gives the child his dinner in front of the TV. The second night, the same scenario unfolds and, yet again "for peace sake", the parent allows the child to eat in front of the TV instead of getting him to join everyone else at the dinner table. Soon, the child only eats his dinner in front of the TV.
It's a simple example of how situations can develop into patterns of behaviour that become impossible to break.
"In that case, the power is in the wrong hands. A three year old can control a household by having the television on 24/7," says Margaret Maher, director of Archways, the Dublin-based organisation which delivers prevention and intervention programmes to children and teenagers with behavioural and emotional difficulties.
"How will a parent deal with that child when he becomes a teenager? What chance will such a parent have to tell a teenager that she can't go to a disco because it's a school night?" asks Maher who says she has seen many parents crying at parent/teacher meetings because they can't get their children to go to school. "At that stage, parents have high levels of fear and stress because the relationship has broken down and these teenagers are then prone to develop conduct disorders that will take a lot more resources to sort out."
Maher worked as a teacher for more than 20 years before she and others developed prevention and intervention programmes for children and teenagers at risk in the Clondalkin area of Dublin. Five years ago the Education Working Group of the Clondalkin Partnership (now Archways) began to use the American prevention and intervention programme, Incredible Years.
"Right across Ireland, there are 12-14 per cent of children who will have a social, emotional or behavioural deficit which will prevent them from getting the best out of their education," Maher says, adding that this figure rises to 35 per cent in disadvantaged communities. "I've seen families where children are left to fall asleep on a sofa every night because bedtime is too traumatic and the parents can't get it together to put the children to bed," she says.
But, by working with parents, children and teachers, Maher believes these children's lives can be turned around. "There is a huge evidence base for the Incredible Years programme in the United States," she says. One Welsh study found there was a 46 per cent fall in anti-social behaviour at home and in school among participants, compared with 7 per cent in a group who didn't receive the training.
The Incredible Years programme involves three strands - a parenting course (eight two-hour long sessions with other parents), a teacher training course and an 18-22 week school-based programme for children.
Caoimhe Warren is a resource teacher in Neilstown Junior School in Clondalkin. She trains teachers in the Incredible Years programme and also runs a school-based programme for children.
"The teacher programme helps teachers understand why a child is behaving or reacting in a certain way. The most important thing is that the teacher gets to know these children so that the children know the teacher is on their side and cares about them.
"If you don't have a positive relationship with the child, you won't get the child to comply," she explains.
The children's programme involves the children attending a smaller class, called Dina School. In this group, Warren uses puppets to communicate messages about appropriate behaviour and emotional expression. For instance, the puppet, Molly Manners, teaches the children what's appropriate behaviour in class while another puppet, Tiny Turtle, helps them understand feelings.
"The children respond well to the puppets. They form strong bonds with them and are affectionate towards them. The puppets will often come up with the problem and help solve it with the children," explains Warren.
Jacqui Guiry runs many of the parenting programmes in Archways. "In the classes, we have mums on their own, dads on their own, mums and dads together and grannies looking after grandchildren and their own children as well," she explains. "Basically, the courses explain the importance of developing a positive relationship with your child. We also ask everyone to spend 10 minutes every day playing with the child. And that means following the child's lead, not taking over the game or using it as an opportunity to teach the child something," she says.
Throughout the programme, parents are encouraged to praise and encourage the child and reward their good behaviour. "When they come first, they all want to know about how to use time out and loss of privileges with their children but after a few sessions using the techniques such as empathy, listening, talking and playing with their child, they begin to see changes and even notice new things about their child," she explains.
According to Guiry, eight out of 10 participants complete the course: "The key to completing the course is doing the homework because that's when you see the benefits."
Paula Moore (28) completed the Incredible Years parenting course while her son, Nathan (7), attended the Dinosaur programme. Nathan, who is in second class now, was always getting into trouble in school.
"Nathan had a tendency to get hyper while my daughter, Tori (10), would just sit there. The course was brilliant for Nathan. It taught him about feelings and how important it is to think before he does something," she says.
"I've also have a close relationship with his teacher and I speak to her all the time about how he's getting on." She says the parenting programme also helped her: "I learned how to stop and notice when Nathan was being good and praise him and to ignore some of the negative behaviour. And I learned that I needed to give my daughter more attention too."
Incredible facts
• What is it?
Incredible Years is a training programme which is designed to treat and prevent emotional and behavioural problems in children aged between three and 10. Unlike many other programmes which focus solely on parenting skills, the Incredible Years programme contains training programmes for parents, teachers and children.
• Where was it first developed?
It was first developed by Prof Carolyn Webster-Stratton, director of the Parenting Clinic in the University of Washington in Seattle, in the US more than 25 years ago.
• Where is it used now?
It is widely used throughout the US and in several European countries including Portugal, Norway, Denmark, Wales, Germany and Ireland.
• Why is it in the news? Earlier this month, the organisation, Archways, was formally launched to deliver the Incredible Years programme in 11 locations throughout Ireland including greater Dublin, Louth, Galway, Offaly, Limerick and Cork. An Incredible Years Ireland study, led by Dr Sinead McGilloway at the Department of Psychology, NUI Maynooth, will also evaluate the programme over the next three years.
Funding for the training and research has been provided by the Atlantic Philanthropies and the Dormant Accounts Fund. See www.archways.ie or tel: 01-4576433 for more details.