Deal with denial: Why accepting diagnosis is a big step towards development

With acceptance, parents can seek appropriate help to address their child's developmental disabilities or delay. — 123rf

“ALVIN – need your help. My friend and his wife are in denial about their six-year old daughter’s diagnosis of intellectual disability. They insist that she should still be placed in a mainstream school. I think that will not be good for her. What do I do to help them seek help?”

I discussed this question recently with my clinical psychologist colleagues at a conference and they shared that parental acceptance of developmental disorder diagnoses is a common concern, especially when there is no outwardly sign (such as autism), compared to Down Syndrome, where the condition is physically obvious.