Parents of children with special needs always seem to have more meetings, more doctor s appointments and more information to process. A neighbor, friend, relative, concerned citizens or a parent of a child with similar needs would make and ideal support person. Sensitivity, warmth and openness are characteristics of effective support people. One of the most important things to remember is that information is confidential.
Every family has areas that are private.
You must have parental permission to discuss anything even a birth date or telephone number. PAVE has confidentiality agreement forms available. We all have the difficulty of discussing issues at a meeting and then trying to remember the fine points when we get home. This is where the support person's note taking is valuable. Note taking is a skill that needs some practice, but is easily learned.