Goal setting can be a chance for both of you to think of where you want to get to, and what you would like to achieve. This can be a chance to track progress and see how things are progressing.

It is a good thing to set these goals with your child, if they are ready to have that conversation. It is best to understand what they are struggling with, and what is manageable for them. Some questions to explore goals include:

• What is your child finding difficult which they didn’t before the accident?
• What is your child missing out on due to their fears?
• If your child was not feeling upset or anxious, what would they be doing that they aren’t at the moment?

When you have a good idea what the goals could be, you can now make sure that they are SMART:

• Specific: is it clear what my child has to do?
• Measurable: can we easily measure progress?
• Achievable: is my child able to achieve this?
• Realistic: is this a realistic goal for my child?
• Time-frame: is there a realistic time frame which my child can achieve this by?

The ultimate goal (e.g., to return to school full-time) may be too much to begin with. Therefore, it is best to start smaller and break this into, smaller SMART goals:

• Short-term: e.g., attend school for half a day
• Medium-term: e.g., attend school for one whole day
• Long-term: e.g., attend school full-time

For each goal, you can reflect on progress. How did your child get along? Is there anything they found difficult? Is there anything they did great? 

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