Connected Beginnings: NCAST Training
Connected Beginning Scholarships were awarded to three Early Intervention practitioners participating in a three day Nursing Child Assessment Satellite Training (NCAST) sponsored by Boston Medical Center in October of 2006. Participants included faculty from Boston University School of Social Work, Boston College, Boston Medical Center and staff from child serving agencies including Healthy Families. The trainees attained clinical reliability in applying the scales to parent-child interactions. The Feeding and Teaching Caregiver/Parent-Child Interaction scales were developed in the 1970’s. These scales are used both clinically and in research studies to systematically capture and understand caregiver-child interaction, a valuable tool for working with infants, toddlers, and preschoolers.
The training heightens awareness and sharpens observation skills and allows practitioners to better analyze the rapid emotional exchanges between caregivers and very young children.
Past Scholars
Lori Jean Holmes, MSW, is a social worker and a certified Early Intervention Specialist with the Thom Springfield Infant Toddler Program. She took the training to become skilled in using a reliable tool for assessing and supporting the connection between parents and their children.
Gretchen Rowe, MS , is an occupational therapist and the Coordinator for Thom Boston Regional Consultation Program. She took the training to support Boston area early intervention practitioners as they work to include social-emotional screenings into their practices and to collaborate with other professionals to discuss and support the interactions and relationships between young children with medical needs and their caregivers.
Joanna Lyons , MsEd, supervises a multidisciplinary team that provided home-based Early Intervention services to families with young children at Thom Anne Sullivan Early Childhood Programs. She took the training to be better able to understand the dynamics of parent-child relationships and to share what she learned with her team.
We have already had one follow up meeting with the whole group and will have two more meetings to support the integration of this training into practice.
