One of my favorite segments of population to work with is parents and care givers of autistic children. I help them learn how to live happily, without stress, with the reality and day to day challenges of parenting these youngsters (or adults, for that matter). I have been trained at the Option Institute and Autism Treatment Center of America to counsel and give specific tools that are helpful to these parents.
A parent and former client writes: "Though weekly dialogues with Jackie, I have been able to sift through the layers of anger, guilt, judgment, and self-defeating beliefs to find renewed strength and a positive attitude about the present (and my child) that I had never been able to achieve while dwelling on the past or fearing the future. Jackie's very loving and non-judgmental presence during our sessions has allowed me to answer her questions in an honest way that leads to acceptance and ownership of what I am able to change for myself and from there, to palpable change. Jackie has the authenticity, honesty, patience and attitude that everyone wishes they could find in a friend!'
These children are very perceptive of what those around them are feeling and very often the parents upsetness shows up in the children's behavior.
You can reduce the stress of parenting an autistic youngster by total acceptance of them and yourself. Acceptance doesn't mean there are no boundaries or guidelines. Acceptance means to unconditionally love yourself and your child and come from that very loving place when interacting with your child. Anger and rigidity don't seem to facilitate change, unconditional love and acceptance have a track record of success.
No comments:
Post a Comment