Pictability Training is all about using pictures and fun activities to help families think about the future and set goals for their children.
Why do you need it as an Early Intervention Professional?
What's Innovative about Pictability
- Playful Planning: Instead of just talking, Pictability uses games to make planning easier and more enjoyable for families.
- Visual Power: Pictures help everyone understand and share their ideas, even if they don't read or speak the same language.
- Family First: Pictability puts families in charge of deciding what's important for their child and their family.
- Focus on Everyone: It helps families think about goals for the child, the parents, and the whole family.
photo: identifying strengths during Pictability Training
Why It's Strength-Based
Pictability focuses on what families and children can do:
- Seeing Abilities: It helps families see their child's strengths and talents.
- Building on Success: It encourages families to use what's already working well.
- Growing Stronger: By focusing on strengths, it helps families feel more confident and able to handle challenges.
- Thinking Positively: It helps families look forward with hope and imagine good things.
Why It Fits Family-Centered Practice
Pictability truly puts families at the heart of the process:
- Respecting Family Knowledge: It values that families know their child best.
- Working Together: It helps professionals and families make decisions together.
- Meeting Individual Needs: The pictures and activities can be changed to fit each family's unique situation.
- Giving Families Power: By involving them in planning, it helps families feel in control.
- Better Communication: The fun and visual approach can make talking easier and clearer.
chart: Pictability Training Modules
Why train Parents to facilitate Pictability with other Parents?
- Some organisations train parents to facilitate Pictability when a new family joins a service as this process is known to grow new families' trust
- A peer parent with lived experience is a great companion to do Pictability with - parents enjoy sharing their experiences with other parents and this creates an empowering goal setting atmosphere.
- Setting goals can be overwhelming when there is so much parents want to do and achieve with their families, but when another parent can give ‘real life’ examples and also some of the strategies they have used to support achieving their goals, this really helps other parents. Having goals is great, but setting small manageable next steps can be tricky! Hearing others experiences can really help!
- When there is a waiting list for professional services, Pictability supports parents to start working on their goals right away - and counter the feeling that they are in 'waiting mode'
- This can be cost effective for organisations - peer work hours are cost saving and when a waiting list needs to be addressed, parents doing Pictability will feel better connected than if they are long periods without contact with the organisation - in this case a peer parent acts as an Ambassador and gently supports the new family to start achieving some of their goals.
- Another cost saving for organizations is that when parents then meet professionals following the Pictability experience, they are clear on what is important for them and their family to receive support with. This is as opposed to having broad goals where the specifics still need to be worked out because parents haven’t had a chance to deep dive into exploring their child’s strengths and identify priorities for them and their families. Time is saved for both parents and professionals.
Benefits of Pictability Training for Professionals
Integrating Pictability into your early intervention practice offers significant advantages:
- Time Efficiency: In a typical 45-minute Pictability session, you can gather the majority of essential information needed for a comprehensive family and child assessment.
- IEP Preparation: The insights gained during a Pictability session can get you approximately 95% ready for an Individualized Education Program (IEP) meeting, streamlining the planning process.
- Authentic Family Goals: Because families generate their own goals through the Pictability process, these goals are more meaningful and genuinely reflect their priorities, leading to increased commitment.
- Enhanced Family Engagement: The engaging and empowering nature of Pictability naturally increases family participation in supporting their child's developmental needs.
- Empowered Parents: Pictability coaches parents to develop their own capacity and confidence (agency) to effectively support their child both now and in the future.
- Reduced Practitioner Pressure: The Pictability framework shifts the responsibility for generating specific goals to the parents, lessening the burden on the practitioner.
- Pictability Training gives you a fantastic new opportunity to help families feel hopeful, build on their strengths, and create the best possible future for their young children.
Cost: €540 per participant
We also deliver tailored programs for large organisations.
Please contact Eram at Eram@ftitrust.org to discuss group discounts and alternative workshop times or to express your interest in future dates. We look forward to hearing from you!
photo: Pictability Training
