Are you struggling to navigate family life with your autistic child? A few years back I was trying to work out why my son – ‘Bookasaurus’ was different. I was mortified being told he was pulling other children’s hair, that he wasn’t meeting his milestones even though he was bright, wondering why he was being aggressive, and questioning myself when others said I was too lenient with him. My husband was on a different acceptance and parenting path.
I felt exhausted and isolated.
Then sensory processing challenges were mentioned, Autism and later ADHD. Negative thoughts kept appearing in my brain, what did it all mean why was this happening to me? I love my son but when we were told ‘you might want to look into autism’ it threw all of my career and family expectations out of the water.
I felt guilty, torn, and fearful of the future.
Other people didn’t seem to get it and I was worried about what they thought of us in the playground and at work. I bottled it all up rather than face the judgement and concern of others.
I was frustrated and didn’t know how best to help my son.
Something had to change, and that change for me, was finding a coach to help me get a handle on parenting my son with confidence and positivity, and rediscovering what I needed to feel fulfilled and happy as a mum, a wife, and in my career. I realised that I could help fellow mums of autistic and/or ADHD children, spend more time with Bookasaurus, support him as we went through the diagnosis and EHCP process, and build productive relationships with everyone around us and later support him in the huge leap up to Junior School.
Hi, I’m Jo, a coach supporting mums of autistic and/or ADHD children from nursery to junior school age (no diagnosis needed). My son is bright, quirky, energetic, and autistic with ADHD and I now know that he just sees things differently. Bookasaurus is now very happy because I know how to parent and support him, he’s in a school that meets his needs, and I am a much more relaxed mum! I know how isolating and overwhelming navigating autism and ADHD can be and I’m passionate about helping fellow mums to support their children and families to thrive.
If you are a mum of an autistic and/or child with ADHD who feels overwhelmed, stuck, or unsure how to best support and parent your child while also taking care of yourself and balancing family life with your career. I can help you to create solutions that work for you, your child, and your family.
I listen with compassion, help you to understand and accept your child’s needs and strengths, and equip you with practical, personalised strategies to: strengthen communication with your child, and reduce anxiety, aggression, and meltdowns. I share how to foster a joint parenting approach, balance family and sibling needs, support your child with social communication, build and maintain friendships, gain their cooperation for routines, manage their emotions and sensory needs, support you through the diagnosis and EHCP process, and work with staff, teachers, council and healthcare professionals to support your child’s needs at nursery and school. I also help you to look after your own well-being and create time for what you want to do.
I help you support and parent your child with clarity, positivity, and confidence so you and your family thrive. Don’t worry we’ve got this!
Family life and parenting really can become calmer and more enjoyable, and yes, you really can learn to love autism!
If you’d love to find out more about working together to transform your parenting experience, visit my Coaching for Mums page.
You can also find me on:
Instagram – @jo.learningtoloveautism
Linked In – www.linkedin.com/in/jo-long-b8a380247
I look forward to getting to know you!