Family Interaction Training (FIT) Program
Family Interaction Training (FIT) program: A Critical New Tool to Support Families and Communities
Family Interaction Training (FIT) is a behavioral training program designed to help parents of young children with disruptive behavior. FIT materials were developed for use by professionals who work with young children but who are not mental health experts, to help parents learn evidence-based parenting strategies to prevent or reduce challenging behaviors. The evaluation feedback thus far has been overwhelmingly positive. With the need to help families and communities being so great, we are making these evaluated FIT materials available now to professionals who work with parents of young children, while work continues to refine the content and develop more tools.
Three modules that include an instructional curriculum designed to help early childhood professionals learn to implement FIT with parents.
The FIT program consists of lessons, informed by existing evidence regarding critical elements of effective parent training programs, that focus on strengthening the parent-child relationship, structuring the environment to prevent misbehavior, and using effective strategies for addressing misbehavior. Video lessons, downloadable guides, handouts, worksheets, and quizzes are included. This course was developed for people from a wide range of disciplines to teach parents of young children to use many of the parenting strategies commonly used in proven programs.
Spread the word!
Facebook / Tweet Sample 1: Check out the new Family Interaction Training (FIT) materials for professionals who work with parents of young children: informed by existing evidence on critical elements of effective parent training programs. @AUCDnews @CDC_ncbddd
Facebook / Tweet Sample 2: Early childhood professionals: Looking for effective strategies to help parents strengthen parent-child relationship & prevent misbehavior? Spread the word about the new Family Interaction Training (FIT)! @AUCDnews @CDC_ncbddd
Partner with us!
To join us and learn more about FIT, please contact Adriane Griffen, DrPH, MPH, MCHES, Senior Director of Public Health and Leadership, at [email protected].
Acknowledgements
A tremendous amount of work went into developing this professional and practical program. Likewise, a wonderful group of families, home visitors, occupational therapists, early educators, Act Early Ambassadors, and child development experts contributed to the evaluation of FIT. Thank you to the Development Team at the Rose F. Kennedy Children's Evaluation and Rehabilitation Center University Center on Excellence in Developmental Disabilities (RFK CERC UCEDD) at Montefiore Medical Center, The University Hospital for Albert Einstein College of Medicine: Anne Murphy, PhD, Meg Balicki, MSW, MSEd, Jordan Bate, MA, Sophia Hoffman, MA, Rosa Seijo, MD, Joanne Siegel, LCSW, Rosario Valicenti-McDermott, MD, and Ted Kastner, MD; Instructional Design Team at Creative Approach Development Center, LLC: Zipporah L. Levi-Shackleford MEd, PBSF, EdD Candidate, and to the Evaluation Team at the West Virginia University Center for Excellence in Disabilities (CED) and the Department of Psychology at the West Virginia University: Amy Herschell, PhD, Cheryl McNeil, PhD, Susannah Poe, EdD, Laurel Brabson, MS; Melissa D. Kuhn, Rebecca Olson, PhD, Dillon Parsons, BA, Elizabeth G. Prendergast, MS, and Rachael Spalding, BA. FIT was developed as part of the Association of University Centers on Disabilities (AUCD) - Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) cooperative agreements (5U38OT000140-03 and 6 NU3 8OT000140-05-02).
