The Family and Health Care Team Partnership
“You are so strong”... “I don't know how you do it”... “I could never take care of a child with....”
In well-meaning attempts at support or solidarity, friends, family, and health care providers offer such words to a family who is absorbing the impact of a severe trauma or diagnosis of severe illness.
Though such sentiments are heartfelt, the net result is distancing, with families feeling more isolated.Families of children with disabilities or illness need ongoing knowledge, guidance, education, and training at each developmental milestone to prepare them for the road ahead. It is the responsibility of the clinician to assist the family in integrating their child with special needs into a world that may be unprepared to meet them. Acknowledgement of the disability or illness in a respective and professional manner, while at the same time maintaining the family's perspective, is paramount to all involved with the child's care.