Educating clients and families, without overwhelming
I am a second year graduate student pursing a masters degree in Speech-Language Pathology. My question is how can I balance educating clients and families without overwhelming them? I am a firm believer that knowledge is power and having a good understanding of what a stutter is, is a great first step into them feeling empowered. However, I think especially early on seeing an SLP, information over load can be exhausting and overwhelming. What are good tips for keeping families and clients appropriately informed without throwing too much at them at once? What is the most important for parents of young children to know right off the bat?
Hello, I am impressed by your question and your level of thoughtfulness and empathy. I fully agree with you that knowledge is power. Moreover, when confronted with something unknown and misunderstood, we often fear it and react inadequately. Likewise, I agree with you that sharing knowledge with the parents of children who stutter is the right path to take toward desensitizing and empowering them. At the same time, we shouldn’t overload them with information, which can be counterproductive. Experience has taught me that in the beginning, it’s better to ask them what they already know and listen to what they fear the most. I have learned to become an attentive listener and to hold back on details that may not be immediately useful or necessary. Often, parents will not only talk openly about everything but ask relevant questions themselves once they feel accepted and receive assurance. In this way, we hear clues pointing to the information they need most. Not only that, I believe we have to be very observant about their understanding of the current knowledge of stuttering we have shared with them. I try to make sure what I am explaining is clear to the parent and coincides with her or his observations. I also try to encourage the parent (verbally and non-verbally) to ask or comment on what I am saying at every stage of our conversation. From time to time, I even suggest that the parent take notes and write down questions that may arise in the future, and I promise to try to answer their questions or find out the answers if I don’t know them. I definitively give them the feeling that I don’t know everything, but together with them, I will explore topics that are important to them. I hope I have helped you. I wish you good luck in your studies and work.
Kasia
“bkmurph” I appreciate your question and will just add one thing to Kasia’s thorough response related to your question, “What is the most important for parents of young children to know right off the bat?” I believe most parents come to us carrying some level of guilt that they have unknowingly done something wrong to “cause” stuttering, so something I always explicitly say is that stuttering is no one’s fault. I believe it’s important to alleviate this guilt right off the bat because guilt (often accompanied by fear) tends to lead to reactivity that is often unhelpful.