Qualitative study reveals key dilemmas in standard guidance for parents of deaf children, highlighting the need to balance neutral information with emotional support and practical reality.
This article concerns parents' identification of the dilemmas and challenges involved in providing them with good information. Twenty parents (both Deaf and hearing) took part in focus groups to review the draft of a standard information folder for parents of newly diagnosed deaf children that was being developed by the National Deaf Children's Society and the (UK) government-sponsored Early Support Pilot Programme. As well as providing specific feedback on content, style and mode of delivery, parents also identified and discussed five crucial dilemmas faced by information producers: to what extent does the provision of impartial information actually support parent choice? How much should information provision also encompass attitude setting? How effective is information without attention to the reality context? How much should information be a technical guide and how much an emotional guide? The provision of information or the provision of what works for parents? A qualitative analysis of parents' discussions based around these themes is offered with a response by the information producer (NDCS).
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Young et al. (2005) studied this question.