Five Ways To Cultivate Partnerships

Stay Connected
It is not always easy to keep in touch with parents and professionals who work in hearing health and aural habilitation. Perhaps you occasionally meet at school, at a weekly therapy session, or in your community. It is important to make time; for any relationship to remain strong, it needs to be cultivated and nourished. Schedule play dates to meet with other parents. Stay connected with your teachers and audiologists. Attend parent gatherings, school events, and professional workshops.

Never underestimate the power of connections and cultivating relationships with others in the journey to raise your child with hearing loss. Staying connecting is vital if you want to maintain and build knowledge in auditory based practice, grow deeper understanding of the support you can give your child in school, and cultivate partnerships that provide informational, relational and social supports.

Collaborate with Professionals
An important part of any successful relationship is collaboration. Every professional has their own unique skill set, and you too have unique skills and strengths. Your parenting skills evolve as you raise your child. You may be struggling at home, with your child’s school or with your child in a particular way. Collaboration allows you to engage in conversations with your teachers and others that can expand your knowledge. The goal is to help you achieve success as a team.

Working independently is fine, and seeking resource online or in books is great. Collaboration might yield broader results. A great example of this is when working on homework assignment with your child. Perhaps you want to engage with your child in this assignment, but the child is having problems and you have no idea what to do about it. The problem (such as reading comprehension or a math problem) is not something you understand well enough to guide your child through. Broaden your scope of the situation; how might you partner with your teacher to help? What objective questions can you ask your child’s teacher to help your child solve the problem? Would asking multiple professionals help you gain a greater depth of understanding in how to work with your child? Collaboration works well when you trust each other and work toward a common goal.

Don’t Compete
People come from different backgrounds and experiences. A child’s hearing loss might be misinterpreted, challenged, or downplayed. You have the right to express expectations of your child without being competitive or adversarial. An important lesson in building positive and strong relationships is to avoid competing and arguing. Since you know your child best, initiate a conversation that highlights your child’s potential first. Don’t focus your belief on what you feel is attainable. Instead, be persistent and courteous in your attempt at finding a common communication, academic, or social/emotional goal. Be open-minded, state your intention, and be non-judgmental. Envision standing in the shoes of others to gain their perspective; try to see the other viewpoint with reason, interest and understanding. At times, you might feel the need to walk away to evaluate your emotional response. If needed, take time to think about important points you want to make before engaging in a new conversation.

Be Supportive
Just like any another relationship, a strong rapport with either a parent or professional needs to feel supportive. There may be times you get support and other times a parent or professional need your guidance. Ask how you can help them understand a situation, a concern, or ask how they came to a decision. Be empathetic and authentic. Perhaps you offer a suggestion, pose a question, or tell a personal story that helps. Conversely, when you get support from someone, express your gratitude. A good relationship with either a professional or parent is not only powerful but can be long lasting and highly supportive emotionally and socially.

Motivate Each Other
There comes a time in life where you hit a plateau and you’re not quite sure what your next move should be. This is when a strong relationship is needed. Not only can an ally help motivate you in your quest for success, but he/she can be a great source of advice or knowledge on parenting, family matters, and auditory based practice.

Close relationships help you both explore your journey as you parent children through ages and stages of development. As your child matures, so do your decision-making skills and your perspective. When you are unsure about a situation at home in which to help your child, seek out the advice of another parent and/or professional. They may help motivate you and clarify your next step. At other moments, parents and/or professionals may provide acknowledgement of what you may already know.

Keep in mind you may be modeling a good relationship, and your communications and success may help inspire other parents. Networking with others is important to learn about successful mainstream experiences for children. Dive deep into conversations that provide a source of motivation and guidance as you raise a child in mainstream school. The relationship goes both ways really; your vested interest in another’s success may also help them push you further in achieving your own goals for your child.

Information from this article should be cited/referenced as: “Partners for A Greater Voice, Inc. Content derived from Essential Programs to Coach and Empower (2016). Ipswich, Massachusetts U.S.A. www.greatervoice.com”