How to Handle Reluctant Parents

I meet many parents who repeatedly tell me, “I’m not worried,” when we discuss the reason they’re bringing their child to me for an evaluation. One of the best things I learned in college was to begin each meeting with the same questions for parents: “Who referred you to seek an evaluation for your child and what are your concerns?” From these essential questions, I quickly learn how ready parents are to seek my help, as well as their feelings about the original referral. As the evaluator, I determine how the parent feels about the evaluation. Some parents just go through the motions of getting an assessment, because their pediatrician recommended it, but they truly believe their child is just fine and might outgrow the concern. Earlier in my career, I would have tried to convince the parents they should take action right away by seeking speech-language pathology services. Now I take another approach. I have learned to respect parents and families wherever they find themselves on their journey accepting their child’s speech or language disorder. Reluctant parents might be in denial, hopeful their child will outgrow any issues, or they might feel addressing a speech disorder is not a high priority. Whatever their attitude at the time of evaluation, I eventually realized it’s not my place to convince them of the value of my services. It is my job to inform. When I encounter families demonstrating a lack of interest in moving forward with treatment, I...
Source: American Speech-Language-Hearing Association (ASHA) Press Releases - Category: Speech-Language Pathology Authors: Tags: Audiology Speech-Language Pathology Early Intervention Language Disorders Speech Disorders Source Type: blogs