This is blog no. 4 in our 6-week series on How to survive (and even thrive) parenting your child with neurodevelopmental differences. Managing an effective support team for your child with neurodevelopmental differences can feel like managing a small business and demands many of the same skills as CEO of a start-up! You have to think about recruiting the right people, sourcing funding and resources, managing a limited budget, coordinating appointments and diaries, keeping track of goals, outcomes and performance reviews, and establishing effective communication systems. No wonder it can be incredibly stressful and challenging. But it’s worth it! I hope these ideas from my experience supporting families and working in multi-disciplinary teams can be of assistance in your journey. This blog will address:

1. Why a team approach is important
2. Selecting the right people to work with your child and family
3. Practical ideas for improving collaboration

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Why a team approach matters The nature of neurodevelopmental and learning difficulties are such that your child may benefit from expertise and interventions from different professionals. Unfortunately, when professionals do not have a team or collaborative approach, services can be fragmented. This can mean disjointed goals, advice and approaches, and ultimately more confusion and reduced outcomes for your child. When professionals, families and educational systems work together to form a coherent plan and delivery of supports, the benefits are many: reduced parent stress; improved efficiency; better child outcomes and generalisation of skills; and even the professionals are happier and better supported. Recruiting your Dream Team

1. First you need to first have a clear idea about your child’s needs and priorities, and what will work for your family. You may have been through multiple assessments and lists of recommendations, but still feel lost without a clear map of where to go next. Sitting down with a professional you trust, such as your paediatrician, or contacting an independent advice agency such as AMAZE, can help you make sense of all the information, prioritise your child and family’s needs, and map out a possible plan of where to start.
2. There are multiple avenues to finding what services are out there. The best place to start is with your paediatrician who will have a good understanding of your child’s needs and local services. There are also agencies and networks from which to access a database of service providers, such as the National Disability Insurance Scheme, Asperger’s Victoria, and AMAZE. Connecting with other parents can also be a way to learn from each other or share what has worked.
3. The next step is to interview. Prepare a set of questions to determine whether a professional or service is right for you. You will want to find out about their relevant experience, qualifications and therapy approaches. You also want to know whether their service is accessible for you (i.e. location, availability, flexibility) to ensure you can engage consistently. Other important considerations are whether the service feels welcoming and safe for you and your child to be yourselves, fits with your values, and has great systems in place for communication and collaboration. If you’re unsure what to ask, check out our list of helpful questions to ask when choosing a service provider.
4. Ensure you receive a clear treatment and service delivery plan that fits with your goals and family. This includes understanding the theory and reasoning behind the services and how it will look such as time, frequency, who is involved, cost, how outcomes will be measured, and what resources are needed.
5. It’s important to verify that the therapy and services you engage with are evidence based and the best available. See Raising Children’s Network for an overview of most widely available therapies and the evidence behind them.
6. Schools are an essential part of your child’s team and wherever possible should be collaborators in your child’s support plan. Connect with key persons (i.e. teachers, leadership, disability coordinator) and find out how your child’s school are able to support your child’s individual developmental goals and successful engagement.

Tips for working collaboratively

1. Parents should be welcomed and encouraged to be involved in therapy as much as possible. In fact, your input and learning is essential to the success of the therapy. Ask how your service provider involves parents and families.
2. Communication is key. Identify preferred mode of communication with you and your team. Be clear about what key information should be shared; updating progress, any stuck points or behaviours of concern, problem solving, sharing resources and celebrating successes. One option is to set up a shared file with a simple template that make it easy to enter information as well as keep updated.
3. Schedule regular team meetings where goals, actions and outcomes are established and reviewed. If you are not in the same location, you can create an online meeting space with various great options, such as Appear.in or Zoom.
4. Consider identifying a team leader, or a case-manager, to help coordinate services and offer extra support. This is like having a manager who overseas and coordinates resources and information, service delivery, communication, and advocacy for you and your child.
5. At least part of your child’s therapy should take place in their everyday environment. This is to ensure a full appreciation of their needs are understood and support is practical to where they spend most of their time. This also helps with communication and modelling of approaches with others involved in your child’s care.

The right team, working together, can make all the difference for your child and family.

If you would like more information or speak to one of our psychologists who are passionate about collaborative and systemic approach to therapy and early intervention, please get in touch today.