I see now that part of my role as a therapist is to help parents navigate through a deluge of new medical terms and adapt to a new way of living. Many parents have described their devastation at the words professionals use to predict their child’s future abilities. Some parents are surprised when the predictions don’t come true. I need to remember that children’s rehab is not an exact science.

'The whole is greater than the sum of its parts'



I must be wary of viewing child clients solely as a set of distinct attributes of interest to health professionals. This doesn’t match the way parents view their kids. In school we’ve learned about family-centred care and how parents know their children best (obviously!). So naturally I feel the need to see children through their parents’ eyes if I hope to make a positive difference.

This perspective makes me better understand why parents and clinicians alike question the tendency to plot and compare children’s abilities on a bell curve. These comparisons don’t take into account the complexity of a person and the unique life path they’re on and potentially lead to a focus on deficits.

An OT may be pressured into viewing clients in terms of isolated abilities due to time restrictions and budget constraints. The old adage “the whole is greater than the sum of its parts” is an expression I can use to remind myself to never lose sight of the person in front of me.



Parents need time to be parents



At BLOOM speaker nights I learned that while I chose to be an OT, a parent of a child with a disability continually has new roles thrust onto their parenting "job description." They may become part OT, part physical therapist, part nurse, part social worker, part child-life specialist, part crisis counsellor, part case-coordinator, part educator. While I work 40-hour weeks, parents are working non-stop around the clock. This realization is humbling and puts my role as an OT in perspective.





I will respect the days when parents tell me they don’t have the energy to educate me—one more professional in a long list—about every detail in their child’s long medical history. I will think carefully about recommending therapy programs that take time away from the limited time parents have to “just be parents” (not therapists) with their children. I must be hyper-vigilant of parents on the verge of burnout so I can encourage them to pursue respite and activities that will give them a break.





Sometimes as a student I wonder if I have what it takes to become a professional OT, so I can only imagine how uncertain parents must feel as they take on the extra roles that come with parenting a child with special needs. I must never allow my recommendations to appear judgmental or to suggest that parents are not doing a good-enough job.





I think parents need to be reminded that they are the most invested in their children and that they have a lot to teach professionals. I say this because my brother has autism and my parents have filled his life with such meaningful activities and social connections that I can only hope to come close to modelling what they’ve done with my clients one day.



‘There’s always something more I can learn’

Finally, these BLOOM nights have made me excited and certain that I will learn new lessons from each child and parent I work with in the future. Whether someone shares their personal meaning of vulnerability with me or demonstrates strength in ways I never could have imagined, I know these experiences will make me a better OT—bit by bit.



