Thread by @courtney_cook6

(1/9) As today is #22qAwarenessDay day, we thought it would be the perfect day to share our recently published paper on family communication about psychiatric risk in 22q. rdcu.be/cBtMU #GCChat

(2/9) We interviewed parents of children with 22q and asked them about their thoughts on/experiences of talking to their children about their chance for developing a psychiatric disorder.

(3/9) Past research has shown that parents struggle with disclosing details of their child’s own diagnosis to their child. The stigma that surrounds psychiatric disorders might make the communication process that much more challenging for parents.

(4/9) From these interviews we developed this theoretical model, a visual representation of the process a parent might go through when thinking of and initiating a conversation about mental illness with their child.

(5/9) The outer circle represents contextual factors that acted as barrier or motivators to communication. The inner circle represents the communication process; content (what to say and the words to use), process (how to have the conversation), and outcome (what to do next).

(6/9) We also spoke with parents about what support they had received from HP re. communication. While some parents received some general support, none had received specific support about talking to their child about the psych manifestations of 22q.

(7/9) We hope this model will help equip genetic professionals to better support families by helping them to better understand the experiences of parents contemplating discussing their child’s diagnosis with their child.

(8/9) Feedback from one of our parent participants was that this model may also serve to assist parents in conceptualizing their own thoughts in a way that would facilitate further communication with their child.

(9/9) We are so looking forward to reading @scienceysloth work on this topic, coming out soon!

(10/9) I would also like to express my immense appreciation for @J9_Austin and Caitlin slomp and their unwavering support and guidance! I feel so lucky to have worked with you both on this project.