For professionals

5 Things You Can Do to Achieve the Satisfaction of Families of Children with Disabilities

July 28, 2019

Do you provide care and education services for individuals with disabilities?

Achieving the satisfaction of the family of a child with a disability is a fundamental requirement for establishing a close relationship and raising levels of collaboration between the service provider and the family, as it facilitates the transfer of experiences and skills between the center and the school. Here, we list 5 steps for you to increase the level of satisfaction for the families of individuals with disabilities you work with.

1. Involve them in decision-making. Do not take any step without informing them and seeking their opinion. Connect what you do with their experiences and what they go through daily with their child; make them feel valued regarding everything that is done to design and implement the therapeutic program for their child.

2. Train them, through clear steps and stages as follows:

- Involve them in choosing the skill they want to work on... Do not impose the choice of a specific skill without clear justifications.

- Explain to them what you are doing.

- Set a suitable time for them to watch you implementing a specific teaching strategy... Start with something very simple.

- Listen to their comments on the implementation of the strategy.

- Have them observe multiple times (e.g., 3 times) until they feel secure.

- Ask them to implement the strategy and provide them with immediate feedback.

3. Inform them periodically of everything that has been achieved with their child, as this raises the level of... and reduces the intensity of psychological stress they face.

4. Be realistic with them; do not give them unreasonable hopes and promises...

5. Provide honest consultation... Tell them what is correct and what is within the limits of your field. And say "I don't know" when you do not know... Do not endorse or refute a treatment method or offer an opinion about someone without possessing accurate information. Please, if you are a speech therapy specialist, do not advise them on treatment methods outside the scope of your knowledge (such as stem cells) that may still lack support from rigorous research.

Prepared by – Ynmo Team

Originally published in Arabic. This English version was produced with AI-assisted translation; the Arabic original remains the reference.