An African Proverb reminds us, "It takes a village to raise a child.”
Although this phrase is attributed to an old African proverb, its exact origin seems to be lost in time. In 1994 children's author Jane Cowen-Fletcher released a book, published by Scholastic Press, titled It Takes A Village in which a young African girl searches for her younger brother, only to find the rest of the village has been watching over him as well.
As a clinician, this reminds me that for children with mental health issues or autism it indeed takes a village working together to raise this child to achieve their best possible potential. The various "villagers" have their own expertise to bring to this child – together, we form a continuum of service each with our own unique contribution.
We must respect the knowledge and experience that each "villager" has to bring to the continuum of service, and also respect that the child needs to follow along the continuum to learn all of the lessons from each "villager" respectively.
No one "villager" can offer all of the skills necessary for the child with mental health issues or autism to reach their full potential. We must not forget that only as a united village can we offer our best practices and raise each child to achieve their best possible outcome.
As Jane Cowen-Fletcher said in her book, let the rest of the village watch over your child as well.