Coordinating a child’s support team: a coaching perspective
Coaching the tribe
By Clickability · Originally published 6 July 2016
Original article and dated context
As one of the biggest reforms in Australian history, the National Disability Insurance Scheme (NDIS) will have a lasting impact on the lives of people with disability. But the model’s success, as is the case with all moments of social change, is only made possible thanks to the people who implement it.
Allied Health professional Cathy Love is one of the key innovators in the disability space, working with both children with disability and their parents in a ‘collaborative partnership’ that helps the child achieve greater independence. She’s been a paediatric occupational therapist since the 1980s and her approach is one that focuses on the metaphor of a tribe.
‘As an occupational therapist, I always felt there was a whole lot of good I could bring by working with mums and dad,’ she said. ‘There’s that old African proverb that it takes a village to raise a child. For people with disabilities, it’s different. You can have OTs, physios, a speech pathologist, and a team of 10 or 20 support staff.’
‘With financing, team management and everything that parents have to do, it’s often overwhelming and exhausting. As a business owner, I likened the two parents as managing a whole tribe with the same vision. They’re a chief, a village elder, like a CEO or CFO, being in that leadership role.’
With qualifications in coaching, Love believes that guiding parents through the often complex network of disability services and programs is central to what she offers as an occupational therapist.
She’s very much the coach too. Over the crackle of the phone call, her voice is warm and encouraging, as she talks about strategies that parents can adopt to manage their own tribe.
‘I loved the notion that we can own our challenges, set our own paths, with our own energy and definitions. A coach holds that space, setting tasks, so it’s always been important to my clinical work.’
This coaching philosophy motivated her to write Becoming Chief, a guide book for parents to navigate the world of health and educational professionals.
‘I wanted to write the book for ages, but didn’t know what to write,’ she said. ‘I had two big motivations—coaching’s role in business and showing that there are other ways to achieve good changes and positive outcomes for kids.’
‘[When I was writing the book] I spoke to clients and people I’ve worked with for many years. I ran a global survey and I was staggered that the same problems occurred everywhere—lack of money, time, and so on.’
Although the National Disability Insurance Agency’s mission is to alleviate many of these problems, Love was also conscious of the fact that most parents would have to develop the new ‘organisational skill set’ expected by the NDIA.
‘I wasn’t feeling comfy with all the advice parents were receiving and thought there was another way to do it. The big sleeping giant of the disability landscape.’
‘I don’t one hundred per cent know what to expect with the NDIS. There will be both joy and angst, but there will also hopefully be more and more evaluation and more transparency.’
Love is currently conducting a book tour through Melbourne, building partnerships so she can get the book into the hands of people who want to read it. She is also exploring how she can use technology to connect with people in virtual coaching groups.
More than anything, her primary concern is helping parents and children manage their tribe.
‘I want people to step back, take their foot off the pedal and look at the whole child, with their specific assets and needs, and to be embracing, so we can find what supports a child may need to inform or participate.’
Undoubtedly, the NDIS will have an enormous influence on the lives of people with disability, but its ultimate success will rest in the hands of people such as Cathy Love, who continue to innovate the disability space and look for outside-the-box solutions.
Give the team a shared picture of what matters to your child
Ask the child, using their communication, which activities are important and where assistance feels helpful or difficult. List who is doing what and where advice conflicts. Agree how information will be shared with consent and who will follow up a specific action.
You can ask professionals to simplify coordination rather than accepting responsibility for every administrative task. Clarify whether a proposed service is occupational therapy or another type of support, and check its scope and funding basis.
Reduce coordination load and keep the child involved
Give clear recommendations, explain your role and avoid duplicating another service’s task. Ask permission before communicating with the wider team and include the child’s preferences, not only adult goals. Keep expectations realistic for the family’s time and capacity. The early-childhood approach provides current context for working with families.
Questions readers ask
Must parents manage every professional themselves?
No. Discuss how professionals can clarify responsibilities and reduce unnecessary load.
Find an OT who works with your child and family
Describe the practical goals you want help with through Clickability. Compare occupational therapists and ask how they include your child and communicate with the team.
