EMPOWERING FAMILIES:
HARD TRUTHS OR BEAUTIFUL LIES?
1st International Early Childhood Intervention Conference
Portuguese National Early Intervention Association
Eurlyaid Annual Conference 2012
Marilyn Espe-Sherwindt, PhD
Director, Family Child Learning Center
Akron Children’s Hospital & Kent State University, USA
My inspiration (as always) came from a family.
Hard Truths?
Or Beautiful Lies?
Evidence-Based Practice (EBP)

A
decision-making process that
integrates the best available research
evidence with family and
professional wisdom and values
-- Buysse & Wesley, 2006; Buysse, Wesley, Snyder, & Winton, 2006
Beautiful Lies

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It will be easy to put into practice everything you’ve
learned the last two days.
Families are happy to have us in their lives.
Every visit goes as planned.
Families will “hang on your every word” during a visit.
Families always follow through with the ideas and
strategies we give them.
If I just repeat the information enough times, the family
will understand (and agree).
More Beautiful
Lies
Boundaries are always clear.
 I need to protect families to keep them from getting
hurt.
 I have been trained. I am prepared for anything.
 I can always do more.
 Every child and family will be a success story.
 These families are lucky to have me.

#12. Hard Truth or Beautiful Lie?
BEAUTIFUL LIE:

It will be easy to put into practice
everything you’ve learned the last two
days.
HARD TRUTH:
 Change and innovation can be difficult.
#11. Hard Truth or Beautiful
Lie?
BEAUTIFUL LIE:

Families are happy to have us in their
lives.
HARD TRUTH:
 We are intruders. Families don’t always
trust us right away.
#10. Hard Truth or Beautiful
Lie?
BEAUTIFUL LIE:

Every visit goes as planned.
HARD TRUTH:
 Early Intervention can be chaotic, messy
and unpredictable.
#9. Hard Truth or Beautiful Lie?
BEAUTIFUL LIE:

Families will “hang on your every word”
during a visit.
HARD TRUTH:
 Sometimes we will find it difficult to
engage families.
#8. Hard Truth or Beautiful Lie?
BEAUTIFUL LIE:

Families always follow through with
the ideas and strategies we share
with them.
HARD TRUTH:
 They don’t.
#7. Hard Truth or Beautiful Lie?
BEAUTIFUL LIE:

If I just repeat the information enough
times, the family will understand (and
agree).
HARD TRUTH:
 Most of us weren’t trained to teach adults.
 If we’re honest, sometimes we use words
to control or manipulate.
#6. Hard Truth or Beautiful Lie?
BEAUTIFUL LIE:

Boundaries are always clear.
HARD TRUTH:
 Boundaries are fluid.
#5. Hard Truth or Beautiful Lie?
BEAUTIFUL LIE:

I need to protect families to keep them
from getting hurt.
HARD TRUTH:
 Sometimes we’re trying to protect
ourselves.
#4. Hard Truth or Beautiful Lie?
BEAUTIFUL LIE:

I have been trained. I am prepared for
anything.
HARD TRUTHS:
 You will never be prepared for
everything.
 Sometimes your “training” will keep you
from truly seeing.
#3. Hard Truth or Beautiful Lie?
BEAUTIFUL LIE:

I can always do more.
HARD TRUTH:
 More isn’t always better.
#2. Hard Truth or Beautiful Lie?
BEAUTIFUL LIE:
 If I work hard enough (and use everything
I’ve learned the past two days), every
family will be a success story.
HARD TRUTH:
 We are joining a drama already in
progress. Families are separate beings who
are capable of making their own choices.
We cannot view the successes and failures of
families as a reflection of who we are.
#1. Hard Truth or Beautiful Lie?
BEAUTIFUL LIE:

These families are lucky to have me in
their lives.
HARD TRUTH:
 I am lucky to have these families.
The Hard Truths Can Become
Beautiful Truths
The Talk
• Be grateful.
• Be kind.
• Be brave.
 The process of Early Intervention
is not mechanical but a profoundly
human endeavor.
 O processo de Intervenção
Precoce “não é mecânico mas é um
esforço profundamente humano.”
-- Corey & Corey, 1998