JCPSLP Vol 21 No 2 2019 DIGITAL Edition

Results Participant data were coded under three main themes: (a) my journey as a parent; (b) my child’s journey; and (c) the therapeutic journey. This section will highlight the significant elements under each theme. A summary of the coding levels under each theme and subtheme is provided in table 2. Theme 1: My Journey as a parent The onus is on me Parents were surprised when they discovered that they would be responsible for delivering their child’s daily treatment. Most had been under the impression that they would attend clinic visits, where their child’s problem would be “fixed”: I may not have understood the onus was on me. That I was coming to get skills, rather than coming for a fix, to fix the problem. I suppose I thought I was coming… 1 hour a week and they would do the work... That we’ll go into this session and they will fix him. (PA1) For most, this responsibility provoked initial feelings of anxiety and nervousness: In the beginning, I was very nervous. Because this is a disorder…it’s not normal. (PA4) At the beginning, there was some anxiety as well… “Am I doing this right?”. (PA2) For others, this sense of responsibility was empowering: [By being involved in my child’s speech therapy] I learned that I can do anything. If he has another problem that needs occupational therapy, well then I can help do that too. So that’s good. (PA1) Keeping things on track Parents spoke about their own ways of managing at home as treatment progressed, and the highs and lows associated with the treatment process. Each parent mentioned enjoying one-on-one time with their child as a high point and motivating factor: It was actually really nice, once we got into the rhythm, to have this quarantined time….where it was just he and I. He had my undivided attention. (PA2) Another source of parental motivation came from the fact that they were observing change in their children: Even his father would go, “I really enjoy talking to him on the phone because he’s just getting so much clearer and I can understand what he’s saying”. So that was the result in the end, that kept you going through the down days. (PA3) Parents also reported positive feelings about parent– child relationships, and also improved parent–child communication: It’s improved our relationship. (PA1) Because I’ve now got this child who has discovered he can speak well and we listen, we understand him, so that’s the outcome. (PA2) All parents spoke of the demanding nature of treatment and the fatigue involved in maintaining momentum at home: There were some days where I went, you know, we all have an off day, and you’d go, “I just can’t do this anymore”. (PA3)

A lot of work was involved and it was time consuming. But it worked. (PA4) It was incredibly intensive. My reading and the researcher’s explanation, I knew why it needed to be intensive, but it is incredibly intensive. (PA2) Learning about me The parents spoke of what they learned about themselves as parents as a part of their journeys. Comments related to general strengthening of parental skills: “I think in a way it taught me to be a better mother” (PA1); and more specifically around learning to: let go of control, be more relaxed, be more positive, and be more patient, for example: “I might have been slightly critical beforehand. Pointing out deficits not working on the positives” (PA1), “[I learnt to have] patience” (PA4). Theme 2: My child’s journey When we first started All parents spoke about their child’s experiences during the treatment process, particularly in the initial stages. Some reflected on their child’s young age in relation to the length of clinic visits during Stage 1 of the Lidcombe Program. One parent commented on this in relation to her child’s compliance levels at the start of treatment: “The days were a bit long for him and he was very resistant in the beginning, we had a lot of resistance with him. They were very patient with him because he’d get quite cranky” (PA3). Getting used to things As treatment progressed, parents noticed that their children were overall comfortable attending clinic visits, some attributing this to the positive connection they observed between their children and the clinician: I think having a really strong connection to the therapist…I think helped. Because he wanted to see her, he wanted to talk to her. He talked about her in between seeing her weekly. So that connection I think was really important. (PA2) All parents reported that their children enjoyed many aspects of treatment. The most significant aspect of enjoyment stemmed from the child enjoying the one-on-one time they were getting from their parents: “…it was a time where his little sister wasn’t really involved, and she likes to be involved in everything … so I think he liked it because it was just time with me” (PA1). Noticing a change Each parent spoke about the first time that their child became aware that their own increased fluency and speech clarity was having an impact on others. Some parents noted improved social relationships for their children as their speech changed. All participants commented on their children’s increased confidence levels, both generally and in relation to communication. “He’s got speech that’s fantastic for him, which is a definite confidence builder in his life” (PA3). Some parents noted that when their children started to pay attention to some of these positive changes, this also had a positive impact: “…and he started to do well, he started noticing a difference. I knew we were on to a good thing” (PA4). Overall, the parents felt that their children coped well with concurrent treatment for the two disorders, and that this form of service delivery caused their children no confusion.

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JCPSLP Volume 21, Number 2 2019

Journal of Clinical Practice in Speech-Language Pathology