ESHC operates under the guiding principles of Collaboration and a personalized and customized plan of care for every patient and family. Collaborating with families to design a customized treatment plan is what we strive for every day. Through our years of experience we have learned that the more our clients and caregivers understand about their, or their child’s communication difficulties and treatment, the better the chance for improvement.
Collaboration as we see it is a two-sided process. Our clients have assumptions and expectations of us (to teach, counsel, design a plan of care, provide therapy, measure progress, report results, and more), their clinicians, the same way that we have expectations and assumptions about our clients (home practice, self reporting, feedback).
In a recent continued education course I attended the aspect of communication for increased collaboration was discussed. Janet DesGeorges, the executive director and co-founder of Hands and Voices, a parent support and advocacy group for children and adults with communication disorders suggests that parents/clients and health care providers consider the following when there are challenges in the way of successful communication:
- Ask yourself what assumptions you have about the other person? Examples: The family doesn’t value my services. The clinician doesn’t think I understand what is my child’s challenges are.
- Don’t avoid challenges. Be willing to face a situation/problem.
- Find out what the challenge is.
- Build on what is working.
- Take the approach of mutual mentoring. Parents are the experts about their child and their family situation. Clinicians are the experts in assessment and treatment of communication disorders. “We need one another!”
At ESHC we welcome partnership with our families and hope to serve your needs the best way possible. Together we are stronger!