Therapist Shopping
2nd
April is marked as World Autism Awareness day. Every professional
working with children with Autism pledges to spread awareness about autism
especially on this day. There are conferences, posters, walkathons and street
plays all signifying importance of early detection and corrective treatment. I
personally believe that it is the need of the hour. But what is also important
is to speak about issues that are not commonly spoken about which ultimately
hinders the child’s development, one of them being “therapist shopping” by
parents.
So what does Therapist Shopping mean? It
means hopping or changing from one therapist or professional to the other
without giving the due time or having faith and trust in the professional. Have
you heard about the “herd mentality”? If no, then to highlight, it means how
people get influenced to follow trends or adopt certain behaviors ‘blindly’
without applying their mind to it. Very often I have seen a similar pattern
emerging in parents of special children to choose the right therapist for their
child.
To choose the right therapist you need to do
research and trust your personal gut. You need to have faith and trust in the
professional and give reasonable time to the professional working on the child.
As we know, bringing about a change in children is a great challenge. It is
even more difficult in children with special needs because of impaired
communication and co-morbid challenges. So patience is of utmost importance.
Some statements by parents who usually
exhibit therapist shopping are “We saw no change so we stopped therapy in 2
turns!” “We have tried all the therapists, none are good. You can’t get what
you get abroad, here”. “Oh you should try that therapist she/he has a fancy
clinic and she/he is quite famous”.
On a personal note, 2 turns is way too less
to even judge whether a rapport was established between a child and a therapist,
forget a change to happen on account of the therapy sessions. I don’t deny
services available abroad are very advanced and professional but we need to
have a more realistic expectation of what is available and how to maximize what
is being offered in our country, rather that being obsessed with the “foreign
tag”. Also all that glows may not necessarily be gold! So when you are choosing
a therapist for your child, focus on credentials, previous work experience, documentation,
treatment plan and moreover on your own personal instinct.
The reason I strongly felt the need to write
about this topic on world autism awareness day is because it perturbs me to see
more and more children suffering because of ignorance and crowd wisdom. Not
only is crucial time lost, it leads to instability in any therapy, loss of
money, confusion for the child, frustration in parents and most importantly poor
prognosis.
I understand the parents concerns and fears
and that each parent wants the best for their child. But at the same time one
needs to take a reasonable and informed decision in choosing the right
professional for the child. Our ultimate goal lies in ‘bridging’ the child’s
developmental lag and ‘enhancing’ functional independence. Parents and
professionals should work collectively as a team, I would say as a ‘family’ to
help the child gain maximum benefit.
Aditi
Chaudhary
