Disability professionals: what to expect

What to look for in disability professionals

Your disability professionals should be competent, skilled and knowledgeable in their area of expertise. Your relationship with professionals is more likely to work well if the professionals have the following qualities.

Family centred
This means disability professionals should:

take the needs of your whole family into account
focus on finding solutions that work for your child and family
seek out your family’s strengths and build on them
listen to your concerns
encourage you to say what you think, ask questions and make suggestions
appreciate your role as an advocate for your child
collaborate and work with you as a partner on behalf of your child
develop creative and realistic strategies that fit in with your family’s daily life.

Child centred
This means disability professionals should:

see your child as a person and look beyond their disability
pay attention to what your child can do and build on their strengths
relate respectfully and appropriately to your child
ensure your child feels comfortable and supported
listen to and respond to your child’s needs, interests and concerns
set achievable goals and tasks for your child
review your child’s progress regularly
show pleasure in your child’s progress and achievements
try to make sure your child is fully included in community and family life.

Professional
This means disability professionals should:

be courteous and respectful to you, your child and other family members
give you information that you can understand, and allow enough time to explain things
help you understand the benefits and risks of therapies and supports and make decisions about them
refer you to other services and talk with other professionals involved with your child (with your consent) so you can get coordinated advice and support.

Disability professionals are experts in your child’s care. But you’re an expert on your child. No-one knows your child better than you do, and it’s OK to ask questions, make sure you understand what’s happening and speak up for your child. This helps disability professionals meet your child’s needs.

The professional’s relationship with your child

Whether your child is a baby, a young child or a teenage child, you can expect the professional to:

be able to interact easily with your child
talk directly to your child when necessary
say things about your child that are helpful and appropriate for them to hear
avoid talking about your child as though they aren’t present, even when talking to you
be sensitive to your child
respond appropriately if your child is displaying any verbal or nonverbal signs of being uncomfortable.

What to do if you disagree with disability professionals

Sometimes you’ll disagree with the professionals you work with. For example, you might feel that your child isn’t getting enough support. Here are some steps to take if you need to resolve a disagreement.

Start by speaking directly to your professional. Most of the time you and the professional will be able to sort things out. The stronger your relationship, the easier it will be to do this.

Make a special appointment to talk about things that are worrying you. It’s difficult to have a serious discussion in a casual encounter or when your child is present.

These tips for communicating might help during your discussion:

Say honestly and tactfully what’s bothering you.
Be specific about your concerns.
Avoid unhelpful criticism of the professional or the service the professional works for. You’re much more likely to get a helpful response if the professional feels you’re working together.
Listen to what the professional is saying – the professional should have your child’s best interests at heart, just as you do.
Try to see the situation from the professional’s perspective, because the professional might have some interesting ideas.

If the issue is very serious or you feel uncomfortable raising the issue, consider bringing a friend, family member or advocate to support you. Let the professional know in advance if you’re bringing someone else with you.

If you can’t resolve the issue directly with the professional, make an appointment to speak to the professional’s supervisor, team leader or manager. Most services have policies and procedures to resolve differences between parents and staff members.

If this doesn’t sort things out, ask about the service’s grievance process or contact the service’s head office or regional office.

If you still feel your concerns haven’t been addressed, you can contact the authority that investigates complaints in your state or territory. This might be an ombudsman or other authority. Another option is to make an appointment to see your local member of parliament.

Keep notes of all these meetings and discussions so you can accurately remember what happens.

Advocacy support for disputes with disability professionals

If you have an issue with a disability professional or service and you’re having trouble sorting it out, you might need advocacy support.

The following organisations can help you advocate on your child’s behalf:

What guides a professional’s behaviour?

Most of the people you work with will belong to a professional association. These associations usually have a code of professional practice or ethical (or practice) standards, which outlines their professional responsibilities. Some examples of these are: