The effectiveness of a distance peer mentor training program with military spouses with children with autism
Research Report:
Research SummaryAPA Citation:
Kremkow, J. M. D., & Finke, E. H. (2020). The effectiveness of a distance peer mentor training program with military spouses with children with autism. Journal of Autism and Developmental Disorders, 50, 1097-1110. https://doi.org/10.1007/s10803-019-04334-0
Abstract Created by REACH:
Distance peer mentorship can be a helpful source of support for military families that have a child with autism. This pilot study sought to examine the effectiveness of the Military Spouse Online Autism Relocation Readiness (MilSOARR) peer mentor training program. Based on the Care Aware Share (CAS) communication strategy framework, the MilSOARR program was designed to train military spouses that have a child with autism as distance peer mentors. More specifically, this study examined if the brief online training (designed to take 1-2 hours to complete) effectively taught mentors to be effective communicators in their mentoring role and sought to understand the perceptions of the trainees who completed the program. This quasi-experimental, mixed method study included 29 participants: 22 in the training group who participated in MilSOARR, and 7 in the comparison group who received no training. Results suggest that the training group had higher gains in mentor communication knowledge over time than the comparison group.
Focus:
Children
Other
Parents
Programming
Youth
Branch of Service:
Air Force
Army
Marine Corps
Multiple branches
Navy
Military Affiliation:
Active Duty
Veteran
Subject Affiliation:
Spouse of service member or veteran
Population:
Childhood (birth - 12 yrs)
Preschool age (2 -5 yrs)
School age (6 - 12 yrs)
Adolescence (13 - 17 yrs)
Adulthood (18 yrs & older)
Young adulthood (18 - 29 yrs)
Thirties (30 - 39 yrs)
Middle age (40 - 64 yrs)
Methodology:
Longitudinal Study
Quantitative Study
Qualitative Study
Authors:
Kremkow, Jennifer M. D., Finke, Erinn H.
Abstract:
Several researchers have described a training for mentorship programs; however, few studies have examined the effects of mentor training on mentor knowledge of communication strategies taught in the training. This investigation developed and tested a distance peer mentor training for military spouses with children with autism. Results indicated prospective military spouse mentors scored significantly higher on training assessments than those in the comparison group, demonstrating they acquired knowledge and skills from the online training. Further, military spouse mentors in the training group felt the training was useful and helped prepare them to mentor other military spouses. This pilot investigation demonstrated a brief, online peer mentor training may be used to train peer mentors.
Publisher/Sponsoring Organization:
Springer
Publication Type:
Article
REACH Publication
Author Affiliation:
Department of Communication Sciences and Disorders, Elmhurst College, JMDK
Department of Audiology and Speech Pathology, University of Tennessee Health Science Center, EHF
Keywords:
military families, autism, peer mentor, online training
REACH Publication Type:
Research Summary
REACH Newsletter: