Changing lives with the all-important F-words
engaged well with families, the world’s expert on their child. This misses opportunities to be helpful. Engagement with parents as partners works very well. Friends to have fun with, to learn with and to grow old with. Social development is an essential aspect of ‘personhood’. It is the quality of relationships rather than the number that is important. There is a need to recognize trade-offs between more therapy and lost opportunities for children to be social. Fun is what childhood is all about. Life is about doing stuff. Find out what the child wants to do, adapt those activities as needed, don’t worry about doing things normally and build the child’s confidence, competence, sense of achievement and capacity. “The Future is now. Tomorrow is what I make of today. I don’t want opportunities to pass me by. Help me achieve what I can today,” was Dr. Rosenbaum’s appeal, as he urged that we need to de-emphasize fixing, normality, disability etc.
Promote development, child and family strengths, achievement and being family-centred. This is the challenge, he underscored, with a word of advice to service providers.
Start every visit to you by these families with the question: What do you want to brag about? Then think about how your proposed plans and therapies fit within the F-words.
The Chief Guest at the inauguration of SLACD’s 3rd Biennial Conference was the World Health Organization’s Country Representative in Sri Lanka, Dr. Jacob Kumaresan.
The conference, sponsored by the WHO, the Health Ministry and the National Science Foundation saw many important topics being discussed at length including: The future employment opportunities for children with specific developmental needs; Early intervention; From evidence to practice; Education for all; Are we ready for inclusion; Cerebral Palsy; Establishing a Cerebral Palsy Registry; Autism Awareness; and Establishing services in Sri Lanka.