Hello,
I am a 2nd year graduate student in speech-language pathology and anticipate working with school-age children in the next year. In addition to offering speech-language treatment, I anticipate working as part of the team that will diagnose children as having a speech-language disorder. Although I have participated in many counseling seminars; honestly, I still feel unprepared to tell parents that their child has been diagnosed with a communication impairment. My largest concern is being able to inform parents of their child’s diagnosis in a manner that reflects sensitivity to their family.
I am writing this entry as a request to parents for advice of how speech pathologists should inform you of your child’s speech-language diagnosis. How can the speech pathologist explain your child’s diagnoses in a way that reflects empathy and sensitivity towards you and your child? How can the speech pathologist sufficiently explain your child’s diagnoses to you and options for treatment? How can the speech pathologist be accommodating to you and your child?
As mentioned, I am a graduate student in speech-pathology and anticipate evaluating and treating children within the next year. I would greatly appreciate any advice or suggestions of factors that should be taken into consideration when informing parents of their child’s language disorder.
Thank you very much for your reply.
I’m a little late with a reply. Personally, I would rather the SLP be upfront and honest about what difficulties my child has. My son was tested and found eligible for speech services when he was in 2nd grade. He was found to have an expressive/receptive language disorder due to developmental delay. The SLP estimated he would be in therapy for one year and it ended up being 3 years. Now, in 11th grade, he is being tested by the campus SLP because of auditory processing and memory deficits. I will want to know what exactly his problems are and how it is impacting his learning. I will also want to know what plans she has to help him and his teachers, as well as what we could do at home to help him. I hope this helps.