Why do families choose to do a non evidence based intervention especially when they are informed?
Why do you think that is the case - what are we missing?
Is balancing on a balance board more compelling the walking in a walking frame?
From a range of conversations that I've had, I feel that the case for at least some families is that they are wanting the absolute very best for their child, and so they are willing to try anything to achieve the best outcomes - irrespective of the type of intervention. Perhaps clinicians can feed into the idea of 'therapy, therapy, therapy' too, where families feel that 'more is always better' and so every hour of every week is filled with therapy - again irrespective of the intervention content or evidence base.
Sometimes non-evidence based interventions also look more fancy or specialised and this might have a sub-conscious impact on an individual's perception of how valuable a particular approach is - hands-off therapies can look unimpressive!
I agree with Matthew, parents want the very best for their child and when looking at some of the advertising for those not evidence based therapies, parents are seeing something “miraculous”. They are only seeing what is happening on the sessions and not seeing what happens when the kid is out of the two or three week intensive. If you don’t know enough about therapy as a parent (and why should a parent know about therapy, right?) than it is really hard to understand why it doesn’t work based on the information out there.
Neuroplasticity principles takes time to really show and seeing those therapies making “such a huge difference in such a short amount of time” is like going through a short cut. I can only imagine the feelings that must go through parents when they invest time, money and tears in those therapies to realize that their kid will not keep the changes from it.
Thank you Deb. This is such a great post. I keep going back to what a brilliant physio I work with said (Sophia!) - kids don't do therapy to be good at therapy.
It's always thinking about the bigger picture. The why. This is why the neuroplasticity principles matter right? If we can truly learn the skill by doing it ourselves, using our brain - then we have the skill for the long term.
So as therapists, if we are hands off, then the child has the best chance not just to learn the skill in the moment but to have it for the long term.
It's so hard when these posts online show these testimonials - there is no context or background and can be so misleading.
I think it's the FOMO aspect too. People are fearful that if they don't engage in a particular therapy their child may miss out on something that is potentially beneficial (even if there isn't any scientific evidence for it). Parents would do ANYTHING to ensure their kids get the best chance to be their best selves.