A typical pattern we hear from parents working to help their child end the meltdown cycle is to focus on their child’s coping skills. 

When you’re in the middle of surviving this cycle you can get stuck in throwing things at the wall to see what sticks…

…So, here’s what the cycle looks like: your child has a meltdown.

You try to help them through it.

While they’re melting down, you’re teaching them to use a skill, and they refuse to use it in the moment…

So, you try to talk about it later…

…and when the next meltdown comes, your child refuses again, and you do it all over again… and again… and again… for all eternity… 

…it seriously feels like it will be, because when you feel this reactive, it’s jarring to think about how your child would ever stop their meltdown behavior.

When your child isn’t consistent with their coping skills it’s quite frustrating to...

I’m going to speak to you as a wife for a second… My husband has NO parenting expertise. 

I have had to overcome several myths to get us on the same page, the very same ones I helped my clients through early on in my career, before I just simply made a decision to not buy into the story from one parent that the other wasn’t committed. 

Once I made that decision, I stopped hearing from parents that one was less committed than the other.

Once I had a kid, however, I had to remember these decisions and apply them to my husband. Because, as you know, professional and personal lives are different.

So, I did the work. 

When you’re dealing with ending the daily meltdown cycle, it’s important to BELIEVE with every fiber of your being that your spouse wants to live a different life than what you’re living right now. 

It’s your turn:

#1 

MYTH:: Your partner is certain their way “works”.

FACT: Your partner knows...

For many, this year has been a whirlwind of intense emotions, loss, grief and disruption. And many opportunities of growth have posed themselves for parents.

In that avenue, this year has been one of witnessing hundreds of parents reaching out for help, accessing it,  setting their sensitive children up for success while simultaneously learning how to set boundaries for themselves.  A feat for parents of sensitive children to begin with, and in a pandemic, an even bigger achievement.

Now more than ever, your children are looking to you to see how they can respond to fear.

Your priority as a parent is to stay strong, guide yourselves, and focus on love as we lead our children to manage emotions from a place of compassion.

This disruption to the family dynamic while the country creates safety in a pandemic isn’t going away for many months. If your child isn’t emotionally available for learning in a new setting, they can fall further behind in their schooling as...

I wanted to talk today about a common misconception that a lot of my HSC parent clients face when they think about teaching their child responsibility and follow-through (and to just freakin' get ready on time).

Look, as someone who grew up getting paid for her A’s on report cards, it’s hard for me to write this because cash in the bank felt good in my childhood/teen years, (despite having my first job at age 12). But what we as parents don’t often realize, is that these rewards (be it stickers, money, prize boxes or praise) actually lead to long term struggle.

The logic makes sense on the surface. Work hard, get a reward, work hard again, get another reward, etc. Parents suppose that it will help build a connection that hard work reaps benefits, makes you feel good inside, and builds self-esteem and a sense of feeling capable. What this pattern actually leads to, however, is the exact opposite.

Highly sensitive kids are especially vulnerable to...

As parents, we know the importance of watching our budgets to make sure our family's financial needs are met.  But I also know parents of highly sensitive children are considering more than just money when it comes to raising their child.

You're watching the minutes tick by while your child continues to meltdown, knowing you will be late for work again.  You're seeing the pile of clothes laying in their closest because they “just don't feel right” to your kiddo.  You know how much energy you lose every time another meltdown starts.

But do you ever consider what this is costing your highly sensitive child?

Today, I'm discussing three different costs that you probably haven't considered when it comes to raising a highly sensitive child.

1. Life Experiences 

When your highly sensitive child is melting down once or twice a day, you already know the hours that are being lost. But what about the EXPERIENCES that are being lost?  I'm not talking about...

You often struggle with how to help your HSC move about their day when their worries are HUGE all the dang time. It makes sense, then, that your go-to is ‘let’s talk about it later’ or ‘ think happy thoughts to distract you.’ 

You hope that your child will forget about what’s bothering them, and genuinely, you’ve seen it happen before, so it’s not always a delay tactic because you’re not in the mood/feeling confused how to handle it/have no time to spend 20 minutes on this/just don’t feel like it/your other kid needs to eat (have bum wiped/wants to lick your face/poke the dog in the eye…you name it).

But then there are the times when it royally backfires, leaving you wiped out and with bald patches where you (metaphorically I hope) yanked out all of your hair.

The truth is, most of the time your child is not ‘forgetting about it’. With a mind wired to move faster and use more of its power ALL OF THE...

When Autism Doesn’t Seem to Fit… HSC and/or ASD…Which one is it? Join me as I discuss this.