Asking the Important Questions
PACER Center, Inc. 4826 Chicago Avenue South, Minneapolis, MN 55417
Medical and school services for children with disabilities or chronic illness require great deal of decision-making on the part of parents. Consider asking the following questions as you try to make the right decisions for your child.
In health
Permission to operate
What results can we expect from the operation?
What will happen to my child if the doctor does not operate?
When must a decision be made? (Not necessarily when a doctor would like an answer.)
Medication choices
How does the medicine work?
How long might my child need to take the medicine?
How long before we will know if it is working?
What does this medication do to the body if it’s used for a long time?
In education
Evaluation testing
Why do you want to test my child?
What do you think you may find?
Are the tests appropriate based on my child’s disability?
School services
How will the service help my child?
How will we know the services are working?
Will my child need these services for a long time? How long?
School Program Placement
How will this placement help my child?
Have the persons who think the program will help my child actually seen the program?
What are the ages and abilities of students in the program? Are they similar to those of my child?
What behaviors might my child learn from others in the program?
How will we know whether the program is working?
What is the average length of time students stay in the program?
When will we review the placement?
Individual education plan
What can my child do now that he could not do last time that we met?
In what areas has progress been slower than expected? Faster than expected?
What changes do we need to make?
What are my child’s strengths?