Dealing with Chronic Sorrow and the Loss of a "Fluent Child" (a personal story)

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Re: Working with Families

From: Jaime Hannan
Date: 14 Oct 2010
Time: 15:05:49 -0500
Remote Name: 205.142.197.108

Comments

Hi Erin, thanks for your post! Congratulations also on picking such a wonderful field! Scott did a wonderful job of answering your questions. I am going to add a few of my thoughts too. I think that one of the most difficult questions a parent can ask a clinician is "Will my child be cured/get better, etc.?" The first time I had a parent ask me this question, I froze...and really did not know what to say. Obviously, our job is to help our clients, which we do; however, that does not always mean that we will "cure" them. Stuttering is one of those communication disorders that many individuals have to manage throughout their entire lives. Therefore, as difficult as it is...I would suggest that an SLP never "guarantee" or "promise" a cure. We can say that we will work with the client and family to help them learn about, understand, and treat a disorder...but the truth is that no one can predict the future or truly know what the outcome will be. Scott had some really good suggestions for talking with the parents - educating them about how there is no known cause and no known cure, etc. I have found that once parents learn more about any type of communication disorder, they often feel more in control. This may not be a conversation that you have right away with the family, but if they bring it up...just assure them that you are willing to work with them (and their child) and help them as much as possible. One thing that I have started to tell some of the parents of my clients is that I have many different approaches and ideas that I want to try. I tell them that some may work and others may not, but that it is going to be a "game" of trial and error. What works with one client may not work with another. I have found that this seems to bring a sense of relief to the parents (and to me) because I am not promising that one approach will work and I am also giving myself room and time to find an approach that is most helpful for their child. These are definitely tough questions to get as an SLP - it will just take time and experience to get more comfortable with answering them. I'm still working on it! :) I hope this helps. Feel free to contact either Scott or me if you have any more questions. Jaime.


Last changed: 10/14/10