Do You Sugar Coat?

An article in a recent issue of Pediatrics brings up an interesting point when dealing with mothers of young children and their child’s development. Three focus groups, consisting of mothers of children who received early intervention, mothers of typically developing children and specialists were studied. Most mothers indicated a “non alarmist style of communicating if delays were suspected”. Some other mothers indicated that they preferred a “more direct style” so that they were better able to understand. All of the focus groups felt that the following were a priority: developmental timeline of what to expect, suggestions to encourage developmental skills and a follow up evaluation.

What do you do in your daily practice? Are you a “sugar coater or a straight talker”?

Reference: Sices, Laura, Egbert, Lucia, Mercer, Mary Beth Sugar-coaters and Straight Talkers: Communicating About Developmental Delays in Primary Care Pediatrics 2009 124: e705-e713