Testimonial – The Power of Parent Co-Facilitators

 

Angelina Hynes is an accredited parent facilitator in the Parents Plus Special Needs (PPSN) Programme. She completed her PPSN training June 2023 with funding from Family Carers Ireland (FCI), who have delivered the PPSN Programme online since 2021. FCI run five PPSN programmes every year, with a parent facilitator and a staff member co-facilitating the programme for a group of ten parents/carers of teenagers who have an intellectual disability or additional support needs.

Here is what Angelina has to say about her experience of the PPSN programme as both a parent and a facilitator:

I am a full-time carer for my 13-year-old daughter. She has a rare genetic condition called Pitt-Hopkins Syndrome, meaning that she is non-verbal, a wheelchair user and has a severe intellectual disability. I know the fear, loneliness and isolation that can be experienced as the parent of a Special Needs child.

Parents Plus Special Needs is an amazing programme that gives parents the opportunity to come together, to share, discuss and learn from each other. The topics in the programme are on point, relevant, incredibly useful and beautiful conversation starters. Over the space of seven weeks, parents begin to feel a renewed sense of hope. They become more empowered and equipped through the learning of information, sharing of experiences and a sense of connection with each other to care for their children with confidence and purpose.

As a Parent

The PPSN programme is a fabulous way to get a group of parents in the one room to discuss and consider topics/issues/challenges common to them all. By simply doing this, it helps to dissolve loneliness and isolation that so many parents feel. A sense of community and common understanding develops between parents helping them to feel less alone. Feeling heard and understood, along with realising that ‘I am not the only one’ are the most powerful and impactful experiences a special needs parent can have to help them navigate the journey with more ease and calm. The PPSN programme provides this in spades.

As a Facilitator

I have witnessed parents become visibly calm, shoulders dropping and smiles returning simply because they realised they aren’t the only ones. I saw hope return to what seemed like never ending challenges, parents feeling more empowered, more able to deal with the day-to-day stuff and resiliency increase simply because the PPSN Programme offered parents the opportunity to come together, to delve into relevant topics to learn from each other and share their experiences in a safe space. The beauty of the Programme is that there is as much focus on the expertise of each participant and their unique experiences as there is on the information in the book. This Programme could be renamed Parents Empowering Parents.

“Having a parent co-facilitator on the PPSN Programme is both unique and invaluable”

Benefits of Parent Co-Facilitators

I have attended a wide range of courses, workshops, programmes throughout the years and although I got some benefit from many of them, my greatest learning has been from other parents. I have learned more from a casual conversation with a SN parent than all the courses in the world, so having a parent co-facilitator on the PPSN Programme is both unique and invaluable. The buy-in from participants is immediate. They relax knowing that someone else ‘gets it’ – understands without explanation. That cannot be found in books or research or any degree, masters or PhD. Parents who walk the SN path are the experts. Let them be the facilitators, the teachers – they know this world like nobody else. I believe that all organisations who facilitate the PPSN Programme must consider the possibility of bringing a parent co-facilitator on board. The results and outcomes would be unbelievable.

There is nothing more powerful than the lived experience. Let’s make PPSN Programme the most effective it can be by having parents trained up as co-facilitators.

 

You’ll find more about the Parents Plus Special Needs Programmes, including information on facilitator training and accreditation here.