{"id":1380,"date":"2013-10-04T11:42:23","date_gmt":"2013-10-04T15:42:23","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/veipd.org\/earlyintervention\/?p=1380"},"modified":"2020-06-25T02:00:52","modified_gmt":"2020-06-25T02:00:52","slug":"listening-to-the-familys-story","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.veipd.org\/earlyintervention\/2013\/10\/04\/listening-to-the-familys-story\/","title":{"rendered":"Listening to the Family&#8217;s Story"},"content":{"rendered":"<p>Consider this quote: \u201cWhen we know the facts about people, we know what they are. When we\u00a0 know their stories, we know who they are.\u201d (John Quincy Adams)<\/p>\n<p>We gather tons of\u00a0facts in early intervention. We ask exhaustive and often intrusive questions\u00a0about medical history, resource needs, financial information, priorities for the child&#8217;s development, daily routines, etc.\u00a0 We ask questions each time we see families to check on progress.\u00a0We do this\u00a0to gather facts for the IFSP, facts for contact note documentation, and to find out what we need to know for ongoing assessment and intervention. Here&#8217;s what I wonder &#8211; Do we really need to ask so many questions to learn about the child and family? Are the facts what are important or do we want to know who the child and family really are?<\/p>\n<h2>Listening to the Family&#8217;s Story<img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"alignright wp-image-1385 size-medium\" src=\"https:\/\/www.veipd.org\/earlyintervention\/wp-content\/uploads\/2013\/10\/8255870014_09f74c96cd-300x267.jpg\" alt=\"Mother holding newborn\" width=\"300\" height=\"267\" srcset=\"https:\/\/www.veipd.org\/earlyintervention\/wp-content\/uploads\/2013\/10\/8255870014_09f74c96cd-300x267.jpg 300w, https:\/\/www.veipd.org\/earlyintervention\/wp-content\/uploads\/2013\/10\/8255870014_09f74c96cd.jpg 378w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 300px) 100vw, 300px\" \/><\/h2>\n<p>We have choices in how we\u00a0gather information. We can conduct an &#8220;informal&#8221; interview where families have questions fired at them that are often out of context and\u00a0in a jumbled order (think about an intake or assessment with multiple professionals present). OR, we can have a conversation that flows from\u00a0the family sharing their story. Every family has a story and the birth and development of\u00a0a child adds to it. Children develop within the context of their family&#8217;s story so that&#8217;s where the information we need lies.<\/p>\n<p>Here are a few strategies for moving from a focus on questions and facts to a conversation about the family&#8217;s story:<\/p>\n<h4>Strategy #1: Know What Information You Need to Gather<\/h4>\n<p>To learn from a family&#8217;s story, it helps to know what information you need. For example, if you&#8217;re doing an assessment, make sure you\u00a0are familiar with\u00a0the testing instrument across all areas of development, especially if you&#8217;re the facilitator of the assessment. That way, if the\u00a0mother tells you a story about the child playing with his food, you can ask her to talk about how he interacted during this game, how he used his fingers,\u00a0and if he used any words. One story\u00a0usually includes multiple areas of development and gives you a truer picture of how the child functions in his everyday life. This is also a much more efficient use of time than asking separate questions for each area of development.<\/p>\n<h4>Strategy #2: Really Listen<\/h4>\n<p>&#8220;Really&#8221; listening for the story in the conversation involves being\u00a0flexible, purposeful and open. It involves <a href=\"http:\/\/veipd.org\/earlyintervention\/6-specific-questions-to-ask-when-exploring-family-routines\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">asking good open-ended questions<\/a> then paying full attention to the answers. There&#8217;s a difference between listening for the answers we think we want to hear (like the answer that allows us to put a plus or minus on the assessment item) and listening for the functional big picture (yes\u00a0the child can feed himself but how? when? what food? &#8211; this is what&#8217;s really important). This might seem to contradict the first strategy, but it doesn&#8217;t. Knowing what info you need to know is not the same thing as assuming you already know the answer. Really listening involves putting aside your bias and being open to what the family has to say.<\/p>\n<h4>Strategy #3: Follow the Family&#8217;s Story<\/h4>\n<p>Following their story is like driving along\u00a0a path. You know where you need to go but you take their path to get there. When you really listen and help the conversation along with good questions and elaborations, you can gather such rich information. You might still be directing the conversation because you know what info you need, but it&#8217;s done gently without monopolizing the conversation. It&#8217;s their story, after all.<\/p>\n<h4>Strategy #4: Summarize &amp; Use What You Learn<\/h4>\n<p>Once you&#8217;ve heard the story, paraphrase and check with the parent to see if\u00a0you understood. Explore feelings, priorities, outcomes, or whatever it is about the story that relates to the EI process. Collaborate with the family to develop meaningful and responsive intervention that can easily be woven into their story.<\/p>\n<p>Sometimes what you learned from a family&#8217;s story is not something you actually put on the IFSP &#8211; instead it&#8217;s something that tells you a little bit more about who\u00a0they are and that&#8217;s okay too. It&#8217;s easy to forget that we are just one small part of the family&#8217;s story. It&#8217;s the process of learning about them and respecting their story that&#8217;s so\u00a0important.<\/p>\n<p>My Challenge to You &#8211; On your next assessment or visit, approach your information gathering\u00a0as an opportunity to hear the family&#8217;s story. Try these strategies and see if you notice any differences in the flow of the conversation, how much information you gather, the quality of the information, or\u00a0the comfort level of the family.<\/p>\n<p><strong>What strategies do you use to help the family share their story? Any ideas for families who are reluctant to share?<\/strong><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Consider this quote: \u201cWhen we know the facts about people, we know what they are. When we\u00a0 know their stories, we know who they are.\u201d (John Quincy Adams) We gather tons of\u00a0facts in early intervention. We ask exhaustive and often intrusive questions\u00a0about medical history, resource needs, financial information, priorities for the child&#8217;s development, daily routines, [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":3,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_s2mail":"yes","footnotes":""},"categories":[139,10,11,12,14,16],"tags":[23,37,43,46,48,50,58,59,62,64,67,68,79,80,86,87,95,104,112,115,125],"class_list":["post-1380","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-all","category-engaging-collaborating-with-families","category-ifsp-development","category-intervention-visits","category-practical-strategies-for-intervention","category-service-coordination","tag-assessment","tag-collaboration","tag-daily-routines","tag-development","tag-early-childhood","tag-early-intervention","tag-families","tag-family-centered-practices","tag-home-visits","tag-ifsp","tag-implementation","tag-infants","tag-natural-environment","tag-natural-learning-opportunities","tag-parent-professional-partnership","tag-parents","tag-relationships","tag-service-coordination-2","tag-strategies","tag-teamwork","tag-toddlers","clearfix"],"yoast_head":"<!-- This site is optimized with the Yoast SEO plugin v27.3 - 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