Parental involvement is more than just seeking advice or counseling. Parental involvement is to be in the journey with your child. We are proud of our students when they made progress but we are inspired by parents who got their hands and legs dirty.
Involvement and understanding
One parents who came to us distraught when they could not manage their daughter and concerned that she has speech delay. We spent about 2 weeks to understand their needs and observe their child and they signed up for our behavior management sessions.
We have requested for at least one parent to sit in with our therapist to understand and learn how our therapist work with their daughter. For every session, both parents showed up. MCO 2.0 hit us after 2 sessions. Parents opted for postponement of subsequent sessions. However, we continue to engage parents with online session, where we would have them “work” with their daughter at home.
Involvement and dedication
The girl progressed so well that our therapist adjusted her plan to cater for her fast development. Both parents learned, communicated and asked questions openly. We saw her development and speech improved every week when she comes for her session. What could take the therapist months to achieve, our girl is progressing in weeks.
Parents’ involvement has served in their children’s education journey. If we want our child to progress, teachers or therapists and parents must work together. Teacher or therapist can share the how-to skill while parents can practice with their child at home.
Involvement and communication
The parents are making use of every engagement opportunity to communicate with the therapist. They would upload videos of their engagement with their child and share with the therapist. They would communicate their challenges at home and therapist then incorporate skill needed for their child into the plan. When parents seek for professional help, it is important to share even the smallest concern or observation to therapist. What deemed small for parent could be a huge milestone for their child.
Mindset and perspective
Parents are delighted as they have seen progress in their child. We have seen how the family unit are progressing and how they are closer and bonded in their relationship. We saw both parents change their perspective when it comes to managing their child’s behavior. They have learned to communicate with their child in a way that she can understand. Comprehension improved, tantrum reduced. What seemed daunting at first was not as scary as they thought it would be. Taking baby steps in improving parent’s approach and mindset has supported their child in their journey.
and lastly,
Parental involvement is critical in a child’s journey, regardless of whether the child is with special needs or not. Parents who are involved in their child’s life, even a 10 minutes a day reading bedtime story, would amount to 760 days in their first 5 years of life. That 10 minutes could be the time a child look forward to, every single day. For tips on parenting children with special needs, we have a brief writeup here.
If you have concern with your child’s development, feel free to contact us at +6018 2301 669 or email us at admin@mindstory.com.my to make an appointment to speak to us.