Abstracts

Rationale: Parents of children with both epilepsy and significant learning problems (SLP) report high rates of stress due to lack of knowledge, skills, and self-efficacy needed to manage their children’s condition. We tested a cognitive behavioral intervention titled “Creating Avenues for Parent Partnership (CAPP)” which was designed to address the parent needs. The CAPP program consisted of a one-day interactive program and three follow-up booster groups designed to give parents information, helping them to identify problems and goals, and allowing them to work together to identify solutions. Our purpose is to describe parent satisfaction of the CAPP intervention. Methods: Primary care-giving parents of children between ages 7 and 16 having both epilepsy and SLP were recruited, with 27 parents completing the study. The mean age of caregivers was 45.2 (SD = 8.2) and of their children was 12.4 (SD = 3.1). Parents were assigned to an intervention group or a wait-list control group. Parents completed two scales at the conclusion of the program designed to evaluate their satisfaction with the CAPP program and the usefullness of the program. Finally, parents were asked to write in any comments that they had about the program. Results: Of the 27 parents, 23 attended all sessions. Parents reported all aspects of the program was either very useful or somewhat useful and they were either very satisfied or somewhat satisfied. Parents found goal setting and information about schools and health care providers the most useful, and role playing the least useful. They evaluated the information about epilepsy as only somewhat useful. In the open-ended questions parents reported that they appreciated meeting with other parents. They also reported that the program helped them to look at problems differently and that goal-setting was useful in addressing problems. Many parents reported that the follow-up sessions should have been longer in duration, with more scheduled meeting times. Two parents reported that it was difficult to attend the program but one qualified that statement by saying that the session was worth the trouble. Conclusions: Initial findings of the CAPP program suggest that this type of intervention is useful to parents. We found that parents liked meeting with other parents face-to-face but that recruitment of these parents was difficult. Once parents joined the study, most proved dedicated to finishing it. Future research regarding the CAPP study will incorporate a larger number of follow-up sessions, more concentrated work on problem-solving and goal setting,and more in-depth information about epilepsy.