Is she positive?
My third patient today had twin boys suffering from autism, one was reported severe than the other. XXX actually did most of the session. I got chance to see how she explored the life of these boys and the patient herself little by little by asking questions and reflecting what she said. It’s a good counseling lesson for me. Later on when XXX and I talked about the patient, I said I thought the patient was very positive. Seemed to me she dealt with her boys very well, especially considering the fact that when the boys were diagnosed, her father was also diagnosed as chronic lymphocytic leukemia CLL. Then XXX emphasized some facts the patients talked with us. Based on the patient, they tried almost everything they could to cure the boys including taking immunoglobin, fish oil etc. Everything they eat, according to the patient, was organic. The patient obviously accused immunization of the cause of the autism. Now one of her boys who has severe autism than the other is in a research based free testing using microarray. The patient declined our offer for chromosomal analysis and Fra X. Then I figured that my thought that the patient was positive might not be true. She was actually devastating to find a cure for her boys. Her husband searched online and she tried almost everything they could find. Of course, they have to accept the fact that nothing really cures the boys. So her positive attitude, if any, could be fake or, in another word, she has to be positive to keep hoping. It is understandable to keep positive in front of others, even health care providers, especially when there is not clear cause or cure. That’s why, I think, it is important to explore more about the attitude and life of the patients and their families rather than holding our own assumption or being cheated by the appearance because we can never feel what they really feel.
