Surviving and Thriving with a Special Needs Child

As the parent of a special needs child now an adult, I know how challenging even the simplest change of routine can be in the life of that child.  Things other families take for granted, like relaxed meal times and shifting homework assignments, quickly become nightmares when you have a child who needs everything to stay the same all the time in order to cope with life.  The problem is life is always changing and shifting in big ways and small.  So, how do you survive the relentless roller coaster this child you love can create in your life?

As an experienced and highly qualified special education teacher, I know how challenging this same child is in a classroom.  He or she quickly becomes overwhelmed as the classroom environment shifts each day as it inevitably does.  That is the nature of school.  We are supposed to be challenging students to grow and change  every day in school but how is this accomplished with a child who regards even the smallest change in routine as either aggravating or terrifying? 

What’s a parent to do?  What’s a teacher to do?  To find a way forward, you have to gain some perspective on the situation.  Speaking with a professional who understands and relates to the situation is the obvious next step.  Up until now, that professional has most likely been a school psychologist or counselor or perhaps even a private therapist of one sort or another.  All of these people are invaluable resources and important contributors to dealing with these children.  But a new kind of professional is also available now -- a professional life coach like me. 

As a trained and credentialed life coach, I offer a unique way to approach these impossible situations.  Using both my experiences as a parent and a special education teacher, I work with you as a life coach to identify what’s happening, clarify the factors involved in what’s happening, strategize possibilities for moving beyond what’s happening and then empower action for you to move forward.  In other words, I help you figure out for yourself how to move beyond whatever the situation is that needs to change.

Sound too good to be true?  Sound like something you could never afford?  Life coaching with my practice is surprisingly affordable with rates to fit almost any budget.  Give me a call or send me an email and we’ll arrange for a free initial coaching session to see if life coaching may offer you a way forward with your child.  Contact me, Peter Hainsworth at Chrysalis Life Coaching, LLC.  rhodeisalndlifecoach@gmail.com.or 401-243-3347.  I’m waiting to talk to YOU.