This week's podcast episode focused on a question that I'm sure many parents have asked themselves: how to politely but confidently ask for a second opinion when unsure or unhappy with a medical diagnosis, outcome, or lack of outcome.

If you have concerns about the care of your child or loved one, don't hesitate to voice them. You can politely ask for a second opinion by expressing your worries and requesting a referral to another specialist. We also discussed the importance of seeking out evidence-based interventions and not being swayed by anecdotal evidence or personal testimonials. 

By staying informed, asking the right questions, and trusting our instincts, we can work together with healthcare professionals to ensure our children receive the best possible care.

As a parent of a child with a neurodisability, I'm always looking for ways to make therapy more effective and meaningful, and the concept of the "six Fs" really resonated with me. 

What I loved most was how practical the F-words are. They remind us to consider the bigger picture when setting goals – not just focusing on physical achievements like walking, but also on things like function (what will this skill help my child DO in their daily life?), friends (how will this goal impact their social interactions?), and family (how will this affect our family dynamic and routines?). 

It's so easy to get caught up in the day-to-day, but the F-words really encourage us to think long-term and make choices that support our child's overall well-being. 

And can we talk about fun? It doesn't have to be all giggles and rainbows all the time, but finding ways to make therapy engaging and motivating is crucial. As we pointed out, seeing our kids content and willing to participate is a HUGE win! 

The F-words really are a fantastic tool for any parent navigating the world of therapy. 

In this episode, we explore some of the reasons why therapy can be put on hold and the view that therapy can be seasonal. It is simply not possible or healthy to have ongoing therapy. 

The purpose of therapy is really to bridge the gap between where children are right now and where they want to be. So having periods of time to work on a goal is just as important as having times to let the skills shine outside of therapy.

Trustworthy research and the latest news in the world of neurodisability

Dayna and the whole Healthy Strides team recently attended the AusACPDM conference on the Gold Coast. I sat down with Dayna to ask the important questions and the key takeaways were:

• The content of the conference confirmed that Healthy Strides is sitting at the front end when it comes to providing the best interventions available in the world to our children.
• Large amounts of therapy for example 6hrs a day has not been linked to better outcomes. A balance in therapy and living life is the key to positive outcomes.
• The therapist’s delivering the best outcomes are collaborative, finding a team linked in with other health professionals, hospitals and universities where the research is being done is Dayna’s recommendation for accessing the best therapies.These teams are being challenged by peers and involved in the latest research, are linked in with doctors and have a line of communication with them.
• If a therapy you are looking into isn't being endorsed, discussed or carried out at your local hospital it is worth questioning and researching if this therapy has been proven to be safe and effective by researchers at hospitals and universities.

A great trusted resource for those parents wanting to do more research is www.mycpguide.org.au.

Professional sporting and Paralympics 

Today we discussed what modified and accessible sports are available to families who might be feeling motivated after watching the Paralympics.

If your child has an interest and enjoys or has friends already playing a sport they want to play with, then you can start there. Do they like throwing a ball, bouncing a ball, kicking a ball, swimming? There will be an adapted version of the sport for them or your team can help you make adaptations to suit your child, you can then include building skills for this sport into therapy sessions if your child wishes to.

What is the perfect balance of therapy and school? 

On today's podcast Dayna and I discuss what the ideal balance could look like once your child starts school or daycare.

Being told it was time to slow down on therapy and let our child be a child was an important permission I needed to alleviate the parental guilt associated with reducing the therapy schedule, changing the therapist’s role and knowing there was research behind the advice was so important to us.

Starting school presented the same challenges as after school therapy sessions just weren't working for us. I share how we needed to take a different approach and how we utilised our incredible therapy team to support our child at school which has worked really well for our situation and our school. 

We hope you find this informative and helpful, if you have any questions or feedback on this topic or any other topics please let us know, we love hearing from you!

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This was another really important topic we discussed today as it's a question we get a lot in the clinic and that is about sending a child with a neurodisability to daycare.

There are many reasons a family will send a child to daycare, so the parents can work or get some respite or it may be to socialise their child. Dayna and I discuss the benefits and importance in some circumstances of sending a child with a neurodisability to daycare and how to find the right daycare for your family.

The biggest advantage to children attending daycare is the social connections, learning to play, taking turns, being around children of the same age, play with children of the same age is integral to a child's development. Daycare's are a great facilitator for play and general development on all levels.

We discuss how beneficial our family found daycare for my child, what challenges we faced when it came to getting our child into daycare and how we knew it was the right place for our family.

-- Kate --

When to present to ED (or call an ambulance)

A lot of the time it can be very clear when you need to call an ambulance or present to ED such as for seizures, breathing issues, and severe illness but there is also a lot of gray area with some of our children and i know a lot of us do our best to avoid the “bugs” in hospital’s and unnecessary medical trauma.

Some tips and tricks we share for ED visits or ambulance trips are

• Always carry a recent hospital discharge or paperwork you have put together with your child's and family's details, medical history and recent medications, this can help the Paramedics and Doctors in an emergency allowing you to attend to your child.
• If relevant it's important to note any changes in the child's environment such as new support workers, EA’s at school, new bruising, new habits, loss of function etc.
• Always have an up to date height and weight this can be important for many reasons including if immediate medication is required in the ambulance.
• Back yourself, be confident in expressing your concerns and remember you know your child best and you are the expert on your child. If you noticed it, it's important!

Finally we discuss that the cost of calling an ambulance can be high so if you do have a child with a neurodisability or complex health needs, I do recommend looking into the ambulance cover available to you in your area such as through private health insurance, the ambulance provider, or the government. 

This is something you can also discuss with a social worker at the hospital. Eliminating the cost stress associated with calling an ambulance can be really important when prioritising your child's health and safety.

How to troubleshoot when something is wrong with a non verbal child.

It can be so distressing for everyone involved when something is wrong with your child and they can't tell you what, it's really hard to know where to start sometimes, when to take action and who can help.

A lot of families have to rely on intuition and sometimes this intuition won't always match a typical clinical presentation for that concern.

If your child is very distressed, crying differently and unable to settle it's important to seek medical attention quickly. It's important to know that your intuition in these situations is the evidence so don't be afraid to communicate what you are thinking and feeling could be going on.

If you have time, it is important to note some things down to share with the health professionals you are seeing. These include:

• Diagnosis and classifications that come with that.
• Recent height and weight - recent growth spurt, lack of growth, fast weight gain or weight loss can all be important indicators to share.
• Recent eating, drinking and sleeping habits.
• Have videos of your child on a good day to help show what you are explaining.
• Any videos you may have taken if it's been a longer decline such as a change in communication, mobility, tone or just generally in your child's personality.
• Any recent changes in medications.

It is important, where possible, to start labeling things in play on dolls or when your child falls, has bumps or is feeling unwell and teach a communication style your child responds to that can help them when things are wrong to communicate to you.

It's important to know that therapists and health professionals want you to speak up when you think something may be wrong, no matter how small. They want your parental input, even in therapy sessions where you think the therapist may know your child well. It's important you stop a session if you think something is too much, not working or uncomfortable. I know I have been guilty of leaving it thinking the therapist knows best but Dayna makes it clear they are needing your input.

The important final takeout from today's podcast is to remember we do not want to push our children through therapy if they are crying. If a child is distressed and crying they are not taking in anything and there is no advantage to continuing.