FAQ: Should I become a Parent to Parent Teacher?
Teaching the Parent to Parent classes is a labor of love and a
commitment to making your local community a better place for families
with AD/HD. Here are some questions you should ask yourself in making
this decision:
1. Do I want to learn the latest
information available about AD/HD? The Parent to
Parent presentations are scripted for you with PowerPoint presentations
and extensive teacher guidance. The material has been developed
by CHADD utilizing state of the art information from our national
experts. In addition the entire course is taught from a parent's
perspective. That's why we want you to consider being a
teacher. We provide the information and the materials, you provide
the lived experience.
2. Do I want other parents to
know that they are not alone? The most challenging
aspect of parenting a child with AD/HD is feeling isolated and
misunderstood. By offering this wonderful class to other families
in your community, you will be significantly changing this experience
for others.
3. Am I able to make the time
commitment necessary to teach one class a year?
The class is designed to be offered two hours a week over a seven-week
period. In addition, you will need time to advertise the class,
make local arrangements, and take registrations. This is a
three-month commitment every year that you teach. To maintain your
certification, you must teach one class (seven sessions) a year. Be
sure you can make the time commitment to offering the class locally.
4. Am I comfortable with
public speaking, training, or teaching? If you have
had the experience of teaching or training before, your skills
will be invaluable. If public speaking and standing up in front of
strangers makes you very uncomfortable, then this may not be the best
way for you to promote AD/HD knowledge in your community. The
Teacher Certification Training will include an opportunity for you to
present a section of the curriculum to your fellow students.
5. Do I have easy access to a
computer with PowerPoint software, an overhead projector or a DVD and
television? The Parent to Parent curriculum
consists of 350 PowerPoint slides. It is helpful but not necessary
to have access to PowerPoint to review the information before teaching.
Upon certification, each new teacher will receive a CD with the
PowerPoint slides for each of the seven sessions. To show them for
the class there are several options. A teacher may use a laptop
computer and a LCD projector. You can also print out all the slides
as overheads and show them on an overhead projector. A third option is
to show the slides using a DVD and a television. CHADD has a DVD
version of all the slides that we can share with you.
6. Am I willing to teach the
class as a volunteer? If you are considering
teaching Parent to Parent to augment your income or to add to your
professional practice, please reconsider. First, teaching Parent to
Parent generates very little revenue. Revenue that is not needed
for expenses goes to the local chapter. The chapter may choose
to pay you a small honorarium, but this is a local decision. If you
are a professional, please be aware that there are very strict
guidelines on conflict of interest. You may not mention or promote
your practice in any way while teaching the Parent to Parent
class. If you are willing to volunteer and have a passion for
helping others understand AD/HD then this is a good fit.
7. I am a coach, educator or
health care professional. Can I become a
teacher? If you do not have AD/HD in your immediate
family or are not a person with AD/HD, we ask that you teach the class
with someone who does have this lived experience. The richness of Parent
to Parent is the combination of very good information coupled with this
lived experience. If you are willing to share the teaching
with someone who has AD/HD in the family, than we would love to
have you as a teacher. If you are a professional with AD/HD in the
family, you can then lend both perspectives to the classes.
8. Am I active with my local
chapter or CHADD support group? If
there is a CHADD support group or chapter in your area, any Parent to
Parent classes will be offered under the sponsorship of
the local CHADD affiliate. If you have not been involved with
the chapter, we urge you to contact the local coordinator early on and
let him or her know of you interest in becoming a Parent to Parent
teacher. Go to the Chapter
Locator to find out if there is a local group in your area.
9. There is not CHADD group in my area. Can I start
one? We do not advise you to become a Parent to
Parent teacher at the same time you start a CHADD support
group. Both initiatives take a lot of time and commitment. Start
with one or the other, rather than trying to do both at the same time.
We will be glad to work with you to either become a Parent to Parent
Certified Teacher or to start a local CHADD support group. If you
would rather start a support group, go to CHADD
Volunteers to find out more.
10. Do I want to participate in
an incredibly satisfying and worthwhile project to promote understanding
of AD/HD in my local community? The hundreds of
families that have taken the class rave about its impact on their lives.
Check out their comments at What
Parents are Saying. The knowledge you will gain about AD/HD and
the satisfaction of having made a difference is colossal. Become a
Parent to Parent Teacher and find out.
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