The importance of considering parent readiness for treatment in children’s neuropsychological interventions: A brief report

Neuropsychologically-informed interventions promoting positive parenting skills have shown efficacy in treating early behavioral challenges associated with brain injury among young children. Although parental readiness for treatment is an essential construct to consider, it is rarely examined. The current study describes readiness for treatment among parents of children with early brain injury who participated in a pilot transdiagnostic positive parenting intervention. Twenty-two families of children (aged 3–8) with histories of neonatal stroke, hypoxic ischemic encephalopathy, congenital heart disease or prematurity consented to participate. Findings highlight variability in parent readiness may be associated with child’s functioning and behavioral concern. Clinical, training and research implications are discussed.