We all see the world through our own eyes. It is normal to assume that the person we are communicating with has a similar enough perception of the world to mean that the rules of communication and interaction are fairly standard.
What if your patient has a very different perception of the world to the one you have? Many of our patients fit into a group that experience the world quite differently to us. This group includes children and young people with what would be classified medically as having a syndrome, neurodisability, learning difficulties, special educational needs or other such labels. The trouble with labels is that they are just that - a label. Labels can be dehumanising and sometimes irritating. So, to avoid this trap and because it facilitates a theme, I shall refer to any such child as magical. That makes you and me the muggles in the encounter.
When a muggle meets a person from the magical world, it can be a little difficult to know what to say or do. That's normal. What can happen in such circumstances is that the clinician (muggle) retreats to a place of safety, concentrating on the medical aspect of the consultation and communicating primarily with the family (who are also likely to be muggles).
There is a better way than this. Being a muggle doesn't mean you have to worry about getting it wrong. If you ask the child and their family what works well, they'll be happy to tell you. Here are a few of the things they are likely to tell you:
What the (magical) young people tell us:
What the (muggle) family of the (magical) young people tell us:
Next time you encounter a child (regardless of their label) who has learning difficulties, have these as useful rules of thumb. Each child is different, so if your not sure how best to behave with a magical person, ask them and the muggles they bring with them.
Edward Snelson
Magical world liaison officer
@sailordoctor
Many thanks to Liz Herrieven for help with this post.
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What if your patient has a very different perception of the world to the one you have? Many of our patients fit into a group that experience the world quite differently to us. This group includes children and young people with what would be classified medically as having a syndrome, neurodisability, learning difficulties, special educational needs or other such labels. The trouble with labels is that they are just that - a label. Labels can be dehumanising and sometimes irritating. So, to avoid this trap and because it facilitates a theme, I shall refer to any such child as magical. That makes you and me the muggles in the encounter.
There is a better way than this. Being a muggle doesn't mean you have to worry about getting it wrong. If you ask the child and their family what works well, they'll be happy to tell you. Here are a few of the things they are likely to tell you:
What the (magical) young people tell us:
What the (muggle) family of the (magical) young people tell us:
Next time you encounter a child (regardless of their label) who has learning difficulties, have these as useful rules of thumb. Each child is different, so if your not sure how best to behave with a magical person, ask them and the muggles they bring with them.
Edward Snelson
Magical world liaison officer
@sailordoctor
Many thanks to Liz Herrieven for help with this post.
