Subarna, a pediatrician whose main interest in serving children with disabilities was inspired by her son who has global developmental delays, talks about the importance of making sure professionals listen to parents (running time: 1 min., 19 sec.).
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Subarna:
I want the professionals to understand how difficult it is to raise a child with special needs and to think about walking in a parent’s shoes for a moment before just doling out advice and really think about not just physically the difficulties with raising and dealing with a child with special needs but the emotional aspect of it. And really kind of step back before giving instruction per se. So I think that it’s very important for all professionals, just like it is for parents, to listen. Listening and really collaborating with the parents is the ultimate way to improve their child’s success. Because the carryover that is done from the school or daycare area to the home is really important and will only increase the amount of progress and success for that child.