Welcome to the Step-by-Step Parenting Program© website. The program was developed by Prof. Feldman and his colleagues in the 1980’s at a community agency now called Surrey Place in Toronto, Ontario, Canada.
The main goals of the Step-by-Step Parenting Program© is to reduce risk for child neglect due to parenting skills deficits and to promote family perserveration. It is one of the few evidence-based programs in the world that focuses on teaching skills to parents with learning differences, including parents who have intellectual disabilities, fetal alcohol spectrum disorder, autism spectrum disorder, acquired brain injury, slow learners, learning disabilities, and low reading skills. The program may also be of benefit to inexperienced parents and caregivers, child-care workers, and babysitters. The Step-by-Step Parenting Program© has the most empirical support of any programs for parents with learning differences (see Bibliography section). The program can be implemented by a variety of professionals and workers whose role it is to work with current parents, expecting parents, or potential parents. Such professionals and workers include, family support workers within child protection agencies, early interventionists, home visitors, public health nurses, behavior analysts, psychologists, social workers, occupational therapists, adult community support workers, and special education high school teachers, among others. Aspects of the program are self-directed and parents can use the materials themselves with minimal support from workers.
More information
Please click on the buttons below for more information on the available Step-by-Step Parenting Program© Manuals and Trainings.
To obtain more information about any of the manuals or trainings, please contact Prof. Maurice Feldman, by email at: mfeldman@brocku.ca.
Step-by-Step Parenting Program – Bibliography
Feldman, M. A., Towns, F., Betel, J., Case, L., Rincover, A., & Rubino, C. A. (1986). Parent Education Project II. Increasing stimulating interactions of developmentally handicapped mothers. Journal of Applied Behavior Analysis, 19(1), 23-37.
Feldman, M. A., Case, L., Rincover, A., Towns, F., & Betel, J. (1989). Parent Education Project III: Increasing affection and responsivity in developmentally handicapped mothers: Component analysis, generalization, and effects on child language. Journal of Applied Behavior Analysis, 22, 211-222.
Feldman, M. A., Case, L., Garrick, M., MacIntyre‐Grande, W., Carnwell, J., & Sparks, B. (1992). Teaching child-care skills to parents with developmental disabilities. Journal of Applied Behavior
Analysis, 25, 205-215.
Feldman, M. A., Case, L., & Sparks, B. (1992). Effectiveness of a child-care training program for parents at-risk for child neglect. Canadian Journal of Behavioural Science, 24, 14-28.
Feldman, M. A., Sparks, B., & Case, L. (1993). Effectiveness of home-based early intervention on the language development of children of mothers with mental retardation. Research in Developmental Disabilities, 14(5), 387-408.
Feldman, M.A. (1993). Parent education program for parents with mental handicaps: Clarification of effects. (Letter). Mental Handicap Research, 6, 275-277.
Feldman, M.A. (1994). Parenting education for parents with intellectual disabilities: A review of outcome studies. Research in Developmental Disabilities, 15, 299-332.
Feldman, M. A., & Case, L. (1997). The effectiveness of audiovisual self-instructional materials in teaching child-care skills to parents with intellectual disabilities. Journal of Behavioral Education, 7(2), 235-257.
Feldman, M. A., Garrick, M., & Case, L. (1997). The effects of parent training on weight gain of nonorganic-failure-to-thrive children of parents with intellectual disabilities. Journal on Developmental Disabilities, 5, 47-61.
Feldman, M. A., & Case, L. (1999). Teaching child-care and safety skills to parents with intellectual disabilities through self-learning. Journal of Intellectual and Developmental Disability, 24(1), 27-44.
Feldman, M. A., Ducharme, J. M., & Case, L. (1999). Using self-instructional pictorial manuals to teach child-care skills to mothers with intellectual disabilities. Behavior Modification, 23(3), 480-497.
Feldman, M. A. (1998). Preventing child neglect: Child-care training for parents with intellectual disabilities. Infants & Young Children, 11, 1-11.
Feldman, M.A. (2004). Self-directed learning of child-care skills by parents with intellectual disabilities. Infants & Young Children, 17, 17-31.
McDaniel, B., & Dillenburger, K. (2007). Can childhood neglect be assessed and prevented through childcare skills training? Child Abuse Review, 16, 120–129.
Tahir, M., Sword, C. & Feldman, M. (2015). Evaluation of a game-based parent education intervention to increase positive parent-child interactions in parents with learning difficulties. Behavior Analysis: Research and Practice, 15(3-4),187-200. DOI:10.1037/bar0000022
Aunos, M. & Feldman, M.A. (in press). Parenting by persons with intellectual disabilities. R. Condillac, I. Brown & M. Percy (Eds), Developmental disabilities in Ontario. Fourth Edition. OADD
Aunos, M., Laliberte, T., Lightfoot, T., Callow, E., & Feldman, M.A. (2017). Parenting by people with intellectual disability. In M. L. Wehmeyer, I. Brown, M. Percy, K. Shogren & A. Fung (Eds.) A comprehensive guide to intellectual and developmental disabilities.2nd Ed. Pp. 609-630. Paul H. Brookes
Feldman, M.A., & Tahir, M. (2016). Skills training for parents with intellectual disabilities. In N. Singh (Ed.), Handbook of evidence-based practices for individuals with intellectual disabilities. Pp. 613-631. Springer.
Feldman, M., Cruz, V., Hay, J., McConnell, D., & Tardif-Williams, C. (2012). A right to parent: Supports for parents with intellectual disabilities and their children. In D. Griffiths, F. Owen, & S. Watson (eds.), Human rights agenda: An action plan to advance the rights of persons with intellectual disabilities. Pp. 129-138. NADD Press.
Aunos, M. & Feldman, M. (2011). Parenting by persons with intellectual disabilities. I. Brown & M. Percy (Eds), Developmental Disabilities in Ontario. Third Edition. Pp. 909-923. OADD.
Feldman, M. (2010). Parenting education programs. In G. Llewellyn, R.Traustadóttir, D. McConnell, & H. Björg Sigurjónsdóttir (Eds.), Parents with intellectual disabilities: Past, present and futures. (pp. 121-136). Wiley-Blackwell.
Richards, D., Miodrag, N., Watson, S.L., Feldman, M.A., Aunos, M., & Griffiths, D. (2009). Sexuality and human rights of persons with intellectual disabilities. In F. Owen & D. Griffiths (Eds.), Challenges to the Human Rights of People with Intellectual Disabilities, pp. 184-218. Jessica Kingsley.
Aunos, M. & Feldman, M. (2008). There’s no place like home: The child’s right to family. In T. O’Neill and D. Zinga (Eds), Children’s rights: Multidisciplinary approaches to participation and protection. Pp. 137-162. University of Toronto Press.
Aunos, M. & Feldman, M. (2007). Parenting by persons with an intellectual disability. I. Brown & M. Percy (Eds), A Comprehensive Guide to Intellectual and Developmental Disabilities. pp. 593-603. Paul H. Brookes.
Aunos, M. & Feldman, M. (2007). Assessing parenting capacity in parents with intellectual disabilities. C. Chamberland, S. Léveillé, & N. Trocmé (Eds.). Des enfants à protéger, des adultes à aider : deux univers à rapprocher. pp. 223-240. Presses de l’université du Québec.
Feldman, M.A., Sparks, B., & Case, L. (2004). Effectiveness of home-based early intervention on the language development of children of parents with mental retardation (reprint). In M.A. Feldman (Ed.), Early intervention: The essential readings pp. 134-150. Blackwell.
Feldman, M.A., & Walton-Allen, N. (2002). Effects of maternal mental retardation and poverty on intellectual, academic, and behavioral status of school-age children. Reprinted in J. Blacher & B. Baker, (Eds). The best of AAMR: Families and mental retardation: A collection of notable AAMR journal articles across the 20th century (pp. 235-246). American Association on Mental Retardation.
Feldman, M.A. (2002). Children of parents with intellectual disabilities. In R. McMahon & R. Peters (Eds.). The effects of parental dysfunction on children, pp. 205–223. Kluwer Academic/Plenum Publishers.
Feldman, M.A. (2002). Parents with intellectual disabilities and their children: Impediments and supports. In D. Griffiths & P. Federoff (Eds.) Ethical dilemmas: Sexuality and developmental disability. pp. 255-292. NADD Press.
Feldman, M.A. (1998). Parents with intellectual disabilities: Implications and interventions. In J. Lutzker (Ed.). Child abuse: A handbook of theory, research, and treatment. (pp. 401-419). Plenum.
Feldman, M.A. (1997). The effectiveness of early intervention for children of parents with mental retardation. In M.J. Guralnick, (Ed.). The effectiveness of early intervention: Directions for second generation research. (pp. 171-191). Paul H. Brookes.
Feldman, M.A. (1996). Courses for parents with intellectual disabilities and their children. In Danish Ministry of Social Affairs and European Commission (Eds.). Parenting with Intellectual Disabilities (pp. 107-121). European Commission.
Feldman, M.A. and the Surrey Place Parent Enhancement Program (2020). Step-by-step child-care: A manual for parents and child-care providers (2nd Edition). Author.
Feldman, M. A., & Aunos, M. (2010). Comprehensive competence-based parenting capacity assessment for parents with learning difficulties. NADD Press.
Feldman, M.A. (2004). The Family Game: Enhancing parent-child cooperation and rapport to parents with learning problems. 2nd Edition. Author.
Feldman, M. A., & Case, L. (1993). Step-by-step child-care: A pictorial manual for parents, child-care workers, and babysitters. Authors.