PARENTS: SOME DO’S AND DON’TS FOR IMPROVING PARENT/PROVIDER RELATIONSHIPS
By BARBARA J. GOFF, Ed.D
DO
- Say positive things to the staff—your support means more than you can
imagine
- Attend your child’s planning meetings
- Coordinate your child’s home visits with the staff so they can plan
house activities
accordingly
- Ask for the program’s policies and procedures in writing and discuss any
questions or
concerns up front
- Follow-up with staff when your child tells you about something terrible
that happened
to him or her at the program
- Follow the communication chain—creates good faith with the staff (and
doesn’t
preclude you from going straight to the top when you really need to)
- Ask questions
- Adhere to program guidelines regarding calling and visiting
- Work together to establish balanced and realistic expectations
DON’T
- Blame, threaten, or yell at direct service staff—bring your concerns to
the appropriate
supervisor
- Question a decision made by a staff person in front of your child or
other program
participants
- Do your child’s households chores for him/her
- Forgo his diet plan entirely during home visits
- Believe that absolutely every behavior issue that arises is a result of
PWS and isn’t
subject to change (after all-do we really know for sure?)
- Believe everything you hear from a staff person about an incident-check
it out with a
supervisor who usually has the bigger and more complete picture
- Give cash or credit cards directly to your child (and worse yet, neglect
to tell staff about
it!)
- Make assumptions
FINALLY
- Don’t expect that any program can provide all that you provide as a
loving parent, but do acknowledge what your child gains by being in a work
or residential program. There are trade-offs and most are very worthwhile.
edited:
03/03/2010
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