What you will say to this family will stay with them forever. Be sure you enter the room with a plan, and be sure you have controlled for distractions.
I need to think this through:
- My own feelings
- Having both parents together
- Privacy, if this room is not private – where do I find one?
- Sufficient time to address parent concerns
- My need to listen – to not do all of the talking
- Turning off my cell phone
- Asking how the family would like to receive information
- Do I have the best information about Down syndrome?
- Providing support service information
- My own biases
- Providing a sense of hope – how I would like to be informed, if it were me