The chances are that if you have found me here at Parenting Differently you are exhausted, in burnout, disillusioned, despairing, worrying, considering you have failed as a parent, feeling angry at your child, wishing CAMHS or the school would just fix them and feeling guilty that this is not the life you signed up for. If any of those feelings resonate with you and you are wondering what to do next then I want to give you hope that there is another way.
I have been on a journey of moving away from traditional parenting expectations towards parenting differently and with dedication and time it has made a massive difference.
My sons are neurodiverse and they need me to be different. This has involved patience, understanding, acceptance and self belief, especially with the worry about the judgement of others. The change started with me and I felt empowered to get my sense of direction back.
In my experience, the result of parenting differently is happier children and a happier life.
This blog is about sharing resources I have found useful, techniques that have helped me and a bit of coaching support to help you keep going! My lived experience is with a son with autism with demand avoidance; managing a fight and flight response; struggles and meltdowns at school; EBSA; undiagnosed & diagnosis of ADHD and NVR/Low Demand Parenting, so my blog is more likely to be skewed towards these topics.
I don’t claim to have all the answers or offer a comprehensive alternative, and I don’t claim everything will work every-time for your family, but I would say that if traditional parenting is not working then you have nothing to lose by trying something new! I am living this every day just like you and I will keep adding ideas and thoughts from my experience. I hope you find it useful. Stay well, Stay strong and good luck parenting differently.
Picture is of my children upside down on a swing – always pushing the boundaries of society’s expectations and behaving differently, leading me to understand, accept and love their differences and to Parenting Differently.
I am a qualified NVR trainer working with CAMHS and NVR Practitioners Consortium, a qualified primary school teacher and a parent with lived experiences of challenging behaviours, autism and ADHD. I am not a qualified therapist and nothing on my blog should be considered as medical or clinical advice. If you suspect yourself, your partner or your child is suffering from a mental health condition such as depression or OCD then always seek professional medical and therapeutic help.