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 neurodivergent 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.
In my professional and parenting journey I have come across many other parents and children really struggling and I wanted to bring together my experience and theories that I have come across, to develop a parenting approach which supports children with a specific Neurodivergent profile. (Although I do also parent a 14yr old who is not autistic in the same way and it has really worked to support him too)
My lived experience is with an autistic son with demand avoidance – although I prefer the term autonomy needing, and ADHD; managing a fight and flight response; struggles and meltdowns at school; Barriers to attendance; undiagnosed & diagnosis of ADHD and NVR/Low Demand Parenting, so my website is more likely to be skewed towards this.
I don’t claim to have all the answers 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 level 3 NVR practitioner working with CAMHS, councils and organisations, a qualified primary school teacher, EMCC accredited Coach with ICF PCC level training, spent 10yrs in the corporate world in the City and lived experience as a parent to two boys – one who is autistic with ADHD with demand avoidance profile. I also have experience of Dyslexia, school exclusions, school non attendance, home tutoring, and fight and flight meltdowns amongst other things!
I am not a qualified therapist and nothing on my website 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.