The importance of focusing on the child

As part of a fundraising initiative, I got the pleasure of spending 10 hours yesterday sharing my approach to creating a child's profile with a number of families on a 1:1 basis. It was a bit of marathon as I forgot to schedule a break yet very rewarding. Working 1:1 with these families, I was reminded how unique each child is and how support cannot be generalised. The specific sensory challenges varied, ability to communicate and engage varied, with each age creating a new challenge as old ones were overcome... There were some commonalities... 9:1 ratio of boys vs. girls, families dedication to understanding, supporting their child, desire to find answers and unfortunately very lengthy processes to get help for their child. I'm hoping as I continue to develop the profile, which has 3 key parts (Understanding the child, Objectives & Suggested Strategies/Therapy), I will be able to make it easier to do, more personalised and increasingly useful. It's not meant to replace professional support or diagnoses, but rather provide guidance based on the best books/research out there while going through more formal and lengthy processes.