Early Start Denver Model (ESDM) Autism Parent Coaching Scholarship
Unicorn Children's Foundation is proud to have offered the ESDM Autism Parent Coaching Scholarship for the last 8 years. The scholarship will now be offered through another nonprofit. The link will be posted once details are finalized.
What is ESDM?
Early Start Denver Model (ESDM) is an evidence-based therapy that integrates a relationship-focused, developmental model with the well-validated teaching practices of applied behavior analysis. Research shows that young children who receive ESDM therapy make significant gains and have less need for special services later in life.
The following is a sampling of comments taken from the post-evaluations:
Would you recommend ESDM Parent Coaching to other parents of young children with autism? Why? One family reported: Yes! Enthusiastically! It has changed my life and my son's life forever. Now I have a level of skill in dealing with problem behavior that I never had before. My son and I are happier, argue less, and have a more harmonious relationship. I'm confident that I can continue to build upon those skills as life progresses. Another family reported: Absolutely. This is by far the most helpful thing to us as a family since our autism diagnosis. It taught us that we are not just parents, we are teachers. It also helped us in understanding the best way to have the most functional life for our child and ourselves. It gave us resources to go back to when we are struggling and how to evaluate and correct a behavior. Did your child's behavior improve over the 14 weeks of parent coaching? If so, please explain how. If not, why do you think there was a lack of progress in this area? A family reported: Yes! He is having many fewer tantrums, doing more for himself, and is generally more compliant. Another family reported: Yes... he actually does listen and responds to certain demands that are asked of him. Did your child's ability to communicate improve over the 14 weeks of parent coaching? If so, please explain. If not, why do you think there was a lack of progress in this area? An evaluation indicated: Yes, he has about 25-30 words in his vocabulary, when we started he had 3-5 words.
