Don't Just Entrust Your Child To "Experts". Stay INVOLVED and Trust Your Intuition

Your Parent-Judgement is worth as much as an 'Expert Opinion'.

There are some things that you need to trust experts on.

That would include things like space travel, medical scares, fixing your air-con, the solar panels on your roof etc etc.

However, when it comes to knowing what your child actually needs, nobody knows your child like you do. 

I feel really worried when I meet parents who are completely entrusting their child's future to the judgement of others. Especially when they've lost their confidence in their own 'Parent Judgement'.

Experts usually haven't spent much time with your child

Experts are good at pointing out the blind spots that we as parents don't see, but the experts can never know your child like you do. So we need to understand that an expert opinion is just that… An opinion. It's not a fact. Trust your parent-intuition.

Here's a time I got things so, so wrong!

For example, I remember a mind-blowing time last November - I thought I understood one of the students that I work for. After the first session, I thought I could see what she was facing and how to help. The next day though, her mum phoned and told me that her daughter had spent the whole session MASKING and that what I was seeing was absolutely nothing like what her daughter was actually experiencing. 

I've been working with children who have Autism for 20 years, but sometimes I get things wrong. That's why I need to trust the judgement of the parents I work with.

(By the way, her little girl is flourishing now, but only because I trusted Mum's judgement)

Trust your parent intuition

If your child's psychologist, OT or speech therapist tells you something that just does not sit well with you and leaves you either doubting yourself or reducing your expectations of what you believe can happen in your child's future, then maybe they are mistaken. 

If your child's teacher or school principal tells you that they can't accommodate what your child needs, and you are surprised by that, then I'll bet they are mistaken.

As parents we need to put forward what we believe to be true. If you think somebody is missing the mark, tell them what you think is actually happening. Not every 'expert' views things like I do, but I've really learnt to trust parents' judgement. The best experts are always great listeners.

So here's the BIG IDEA:

Boldly express your opinion. Tell the experts everything they need so they can make good decisions, but always trust your own judgement because you've spent many years learning about your child and an expert may have only spent hours or even minutes with your child.

Do you think maybe this email is just plain wrong?

Well, if you think that what I'm writing here is completely wrong, that's probably a good thing. It means that you are trusting your own judgement and not just blindly believing what others are telling you. In fact, feel free to write back to me and tell me that I'm mistaken, because I'm very open to that - when it comes from a parent. :)

Michael Clark

0481614517

www.amazingskills.com.au