- Insurance Resource Center for Autism & Behavioral Health
- Child and Adolescent NeuroDevelopment Initiative (CANDI)
- Center for Autism and Neurodevelopmental Disorders (CANDO)
- Child and Adolescent Needs and Strengths (CANS) Program
- Center for Developmental Disabilities Evaluation and Research (CDDER)
- Health Surveillance for Adults with Intellectual Disability
- Oral Health Disparities
- MA DDS Prevention Conference
- Preventive Health Screenings for Adults with Intellectual Disabilities
- Mortality Review
- Quality Assurance Reports
- Webinars
- Pica
- Constipation and Bowel Obstructions
- Substance Abuse in the Workplace
- Dysphagia, Aspiration, and Choking
- Oral Health Practices
- DDS Safe Transportation of People in Wheelchairs
- Falls Prevention and Intervention Strategies
- Human Rights Training for Self-Advocates
- Human Rights: What Families Need to Know
- Identifying, Healing, and Preventing Pressure Ulcers
- MAP Training Resources
- Adjunct RIA Training Materials
- Clozapine Therapy Training
- DDS MAP Training Resources
- DMH/DCF MAP Training Resources
- Instructions for Virtual Certification Testing
- MAP Curriculum and Adjunct Training Materials
- MedSoft© Version 7.0
- Responsibilities in Action Curriculum and Training Materials
- Semiannual MAP Trainer Webinar Fall 2017
- Semiannual MAP Trainer Webinar Fall 2019
- Semiannual MAP Trainer Webinar Spring 2018
- Spring 2020 MAP Trainer Webinar
- TestMaster Universe
- Warfarin Sodium Therapy Training
- Mandated Reporting of Abuse and Mistreatment
- Recognizing and Reporting Financial Abuse
- Widening the Circle: Expanding Opportunities for Friendship
- Risk Management in Developmental Disabilities
- Aging with Intellectual and Developmental Disability Trainings
- Adapting to Age-Related Changes in the Home, Day Program, and Community
- Aging and Disability Resource Consortia
- General Aging
- Dementia and IDD
- Launching a Memory Café
- Life Sustaining Treatment Policy
- Guardianship and Aging in Intellectual Disabilities Part I
- Guardianship and Aging in Intellectual Disabilities Case Studies Part II
- Massachusetts Medical Orders for Life Sustaining Treatment (MOLST)
- End of Life Definitions
- Five Wishes
- Fostering Social Inclusion and Community Engagement
- Presentations & Publications
- Our Team
- Division of Neuroinformatics
- Healthy People/Healthy Communities
- INDEX
- Leadership Education in Neurodevelopmental and Related Disabilities (LEND)
- Neurobehavioral Science and Neurogenetics
- Pathways to Inclusive Health Care Program
- Sibling Support
- Laboratory for Equity in Autism Dissemination (LEAD) Lab
Sibling Support Research
The Sibling Support Program: A Family-Centered Mental Health Initiative was developed at the Eunice Kennedy Shriver Center of the University of Massachusetts Medical School. The project is currently implemented at Cambridge Health Alliance (CHA) as an IRB-approved research study, as well as Worcester Recovery Center and the Center for Neurodevelopmental Disabilities (CANDO) as Quality Improvement (QI) initiatives. The project explores the impact of mental illness on typically developing siblings and caregivers of children with psychiatric needs.
Study goals are
• to increase resiliency and mitigate the trauma commonly experienced by siblings of children admitted for psychiatric hospitalization
•to build skills, competency and confidence among parents
•to help restore family stability post-discharge
• to build capacity among clinicians that practice family-centered mental health care
Interventions include psycho-educational groups for caregivers, and sibling support groups for children growing up alongside the patient. Participants complete surveys following the intervention to report on knowledge learned, satisfaction level, and behavioral change anticipated by the participant. Results suggest that a child’s mental illness can be traumatic for family members, and that sharing stories can alleviate the stress and anxiety related to living in a home with a child with mental illness. Over 2,400 participants have been enrolled in this innovative program that utilizes parent mentors and trainees across disciplines to deliver interventions, with high satisfaction scores among participants. The program serves as a training rotation for CHA psychiatry residents through Harvard Medical School.
Sibling Support Program publications
- Rubin, E., Ostrowsky, L., Janopaul-Naylor, E., Sehgal, P., Cama, S., Tanski, E., & Curtin, C. (2018). The sibling support demonstration project: A pilot study assessing feasibility, preliminary effectiveness, and participant satisfaction. Adolescent Psychiatry, 8(1), 48-60.
- Damodaran, S., Huttlin, E. Lauer, E. & Rubin, E. (2019). Academic Psychiatry. Mental Health Trainee Facilitation of Sibling Support Groups: Understanding its Influence on Views and Skills of Family-Centered Care.