Diagnosis Education
Receiving your child’s diagnosis can be life altering ...but it doesn’t have to be.
You might be scared, frustrated, angry and confused. Children feel those same emotions especially when treatment or care impacts their day to day routine. When children are stressed, they feed off their caregivers' emotions. Just like you have questions, your child likely does as well. It can be hard to find the right words yourself as you’re also coping with a new normal.
As Developmental Experts and medical professionals, our role is to explain the diagnosis in a way that is developmentally appropriate, meeting your children exactly where they are at. Our goal is to support you as a caregiver by sharing simple words and concepts to use with your children ultimately promoting positive coping within the entire family.
Whether the diagnosis is Anxiety, Cystic Fibrosis, or Cancer, your child deserves to understand. Through understanding, children develop mastery of skills, further building their resiliency. Each of our specialists utilize various techniques such as medical play or virtual reality in order to prepare children for procedures, tests and treatments in a non-threatening way. Throughout diagnosis education, we will teach your child calming strategies so they are able to better regulate feelings of stress and anxiety when triggered. Depending on your child’s age, they may think they did something wrong to deserve this or that their diagnosis is contagious. As Child Life Specialists, we clear up misconceptions, normalize the “abnormal” and empower children to own their diagnosis. This ultimately allows your children to live fulfilling lives regardless of any label.
Testimonials
“Prior to finding Soul Skills, my husband and I were feeling hopeless. After receiving a life threatening diagnosis for our child in addition to weeks on end in the hospital, we barely recognized our daughter. Our spunky, playful toddler forgot how to be a kid. Her developmental regression was devastating. The Specialists at Soul Skills worked their magic. Their professionalism, compassion and dedication was evident from the first session. Today, our child has well surpassed any goals we set forth. She is running, jumping, playing, talking and laughing...gifts we never thought we would see that our Specialists made possible.”