Communication is KEY.

The quality of the communication between you, your child and family and the professional will often determine how everyone feels about how "good or bad" the experience was.  The purpose of this section is to recognize that good communication - by both sides - is a key component to "getting" good service.

What follows is a guide to good communications and things to consider as you use services. 

Remember, you are an equal partner with professionals and accepting your share of the responsibility for solving challenges and making plans on behalf of your child is important to the problem solving process - everyone works together toward success.

Often, the goal for interactions with professionals is the mutual understanding of a problem so that action can be taken as a team to alleviate the problem.

Sometimes, our own biases and past experiences shape how we respond to professionals (and the system) and situations.  When you are aware of this it can help you communicate your thoughts, feelings and concerns to the professional more clearly.  To see where "you are" as you think about your outlook toward working with service provider(s), ask yourself:

• Am I able to see the professional as a person who is working with me for the well being of my child?
• Do I treat each professional as an individual and avoid letting past negative experiences or negative attitudes get in the way of establishing a good working relationship?

Communicating to others, aside from a professional can be as equally as important. Communicating with other parents reduces your chance of feeling isolated and theirs - share your experience.

More questions to ask yourself that will assist you with communicating successfully with your service provider:

• Do I clearly express my own needs and the needs of my family to professionals in an assertive manner?
• Do I state my desire to be an active participant in the decision-making process concerning services for my child, and do I seek mutual agreement on the means to insure my involvement?
• Do I come to appointments having thought through the information I want to give and the questions I want answered?
• Do I communicate quickly with professionals who are serving the needs of my child when there are significant changes or when notable situations occur?
• Do I encourage the professionals involved with my child to communicate with each other and to keep me informed as well?
• Do I maintain a file of important documents and correspondence so that I have a complete history of services provided to my child and family?
• Do I accept the fact that a professional often has responsibility for service coordination and communication with many families, including my own?

The above information is from the Families as Allies Project of the Research and Training Center on Family Support and Children’s Mental Health of Portland State University.