CONNECTING WITH FAMILIES: IT WORKS! Dr. Susana Gavidia-Payne and Ms. Margaret Nicol

Why ‘Connecting with Families’ Importance of acknowledging the needs of families and carers; Opportunity to reflect on our values Little training available; Consensus about the meaning of ‘family-centred’ practice.

Aims Identify the values and the attitudes of participants that may impact on their working relationship with families. Generate strategies which address current workplace issues in working with families.

Perceptions, attitudes, and values Perceptions The ways we see and think about the world around us. Attitudes Settled modes of thinking and behaviour that indicate your opinion of an event, perception, or situation Values “….the standards by which a person directs his actions and defines, interprets, and judges all social phenomena..”

Attitudes that stand in the way of effective parent-professional partnerships The parent as vulnerable client. The parent as patient. The parent as responsible for their son/daughter’s condition. The parent as less observant, less perceptive and less intelligent. The parent as adversary. The parent as “pushy,” “angry,“ “denying,” “parent from hell,” “resistant,” or “anxious.”

Families’ attitudes towards disability professionals Inability to listen to their concerns; Inability to give the right information (i.e., too much or too little); Always telling families what to do; Lack of understanding of families’ competing priorities; Families’ fears of being seen as inadequate; Families’ fears of giving workers opportunities to judge them as been good or bad; Families’ lack of confidence in their abilities.

Summary People view the world in different ways; A number of factors affect the way we view the world; Our view of the world may not be always right or the same as the families we work with; We must recognise that our own perceptions, attitudes, and beliefs will influence our interactions with families; Instead of viewing differences as problems, we can look at them as opportunities to view things in a different way.

A family-centred approach Finding out how you can best help your families; Viewing the family as a social support system; Recognising the importance of the context of family life in the development of individuals; Focussing on the strengths and resources of families (e.g., coping strategies);

A family-centred approach (cont.) Believing that families can build on their strengths and increase their feelings of competence; Involving family members as active participants in any planning process; Enabling and empowering families (e.g., information, support groups) so they can function effectively within their environmental contexts.

Communicating effectively with families Listening skills: Focussing and following that a family member has to say; Reflecting families: The ability to accurately and sensitively identify and reflect a family member’s feelings; Reflecting content: The ability to restate the content of a family member’s message briefly and concisely. Identify clearly, what the family wants the workers to do;

Communicating effectively with families Effective questioning: Structuring questions in a way that promotes understanding of the family and decision making; Problem-solving steps.