The effects of physician counseling technique on parent reactions to mental retardation diagnosis

Many parents of mentally retarded children express dissatisfaction with how physicians initially communicate the diagnosis. We conducted a structured interview to identify and evaluate circumstances and counseling techniques which parents felt influenced their reactions to the initial diagnostic interview. Significant physician behaviors were an attitude of concern, appreciation of the handicapped child's value to the parents as a love object, planning an uninterrupted and unhurried discussion of the findings, allowing parent contact with the child before the diagnosis was told, sharing extensive information with the parents but without absolute predictions, and making specific practical recommendations. Satisfied parents were more likely to follow the physician's recommendations. The degree of dissatisfaction did not correlate with lag time before parents enrolled in an early childhood special education program. Other obstacles exist to early intervention.