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A few years back I was trying to work out why my little boy – ‘Bookasaurus’ was different; he had an amazing vocabulary but couldn’t stay still or put his shoes on! Then sensory processing challenges were mentioned, Autism and later ADHD. Negative thoughts kept appearing in my brain, autism felt like a big scary monster, what did it all mean why was this happening to me? I felt guilty, torn, fearful and isolated. Other people didn’t seem to get it and I was worried about what they thought of us at nursery and in the playground. I didn’t know how to best help him.
I couldn’t have dreamt that a few years down the line, my son being on the spectrum would inspire me, and allow me to make a direct and life-changing difference to fellow mums. I now know that my son just thinks differently and with my understanding and support he can get himself dressed, say how he feels, is getting there with calming himself down, is bright, perceptive, has lovely friendships, an incredible memory, jumps with two feet, a passion for books and transformers and skips into school.
Hi, I’m Jo Long a life coach supporting fellow mums of autistic children and those noticing differences in their children. I work with mums of nursery to junior school age children and just above. I’m here to listen and help you find solutions; I know how frustrating it feels to bottle it all up rather than face the judgement of others. I listen with the compassion of someone who gets you, who understands that you can feel incredibly isolated even when you’re surrounded by people who care.
As a fellow mum who gets it, I’m here to help you understand your child and engage with them by parenting in a different way. I coach mums who want to learn and move forward to benefit themselves and their whole family. As we work together we step into a world of solutions, you feel in control, your children make progress and family life becomes easier and enjoyable (no diagnosis needed).
I support you to:
- Let go of your anxieties, look after your wellbeing so you feel calm, positive and creative
- Develop an understanding of your child, support them to understand themselves and where they fit in
- Understand each other as a family particularly sibling relationships so you can meet each other’s needs
- Engage with your non-verbal/verbal child
- Reduce your child’s anxiety (meltdowns, masking, identifying feelings, bullying)
- Foster relationships with your partner so you take a joint parenting approach
- Meet your child’s sensory needs and help them to regulate (manage emotions)
- Reduce aggression
- Meet your child’s needs at nursery/school (not wanting to go in, building relationships with nursery/school, how to choose the right school/education)
- Help your child develop friendships
- Encourage self-care (getting dressed, routines etc)
- Get to grips with screen time
- Create a manageable work/life balance
- Navigate the system
Every mum deserves to be heard with compassion. You go away with personalised actions to support your wellbeing, relationships, career/passions and to make parenting your child easier. When we work together you will see things more positively, feel connected, inspired and motivated. As you invest in yourself, your family life will thrive and your dreams will become reality.
How to Work With Me
Packages that I offer:
- 1:1s, 12-Weeks – £650 (1:1 sessions are 60-minute calls, we meet weekly over Zoom to keep you on track or if you’re local we can meet in a cafe or walk. I stay in touch and support you with text check-ins between calls. There is flexibility built in to accommodate school holidays).
- Intuitive Parenting Course & Community for Mums of Autistic Children (over 4 sessions including being part of an on-line community) – £90 (next course – June 2024)
- 1:1 Coaching Day (at beautiful outdoor venues) – £170 (inclusive four-hour experience, entry to the venue, morning refreshments, and a light lunch included in the price), £145 (four-hour outdoor experience)
- 1:1 Coaching session – £99 (two-hours over Zoom).
- Dreams to Reality Package – £650 (see the page for more information)
E-mail me at jo@learningtoloveautism.com or drop me a line using the form on my Contact page to arrange a free discovery call over Zoom or by phone to connect. Looking forward to talking with you!
Testimonials
Olivia – As a mum of an autistic child life is often brutal, hard, loud & exhausting. As a mum of three kids sometimes it’s hard to enjoy the parenting part when the simply existing part is so overwhelming. Today I waved my three beautiful babies off to school together for the first time. The smiles on their faces said it all and I am so proud of them. Thank you Jo, for all the inspiration & encouragement. You’ve helped us so much, you’re a wonder!
Bhumika – I feel so positive and motivated after speaking to you! I did what you suggested and visualised seeing my son already at the special school we wanted, being supported. It worked! A few weeks later I was notified by his Council caseworker that he’d got in and your reassurance along the way allowed me to let go of any doubts. I felt like I was heard, that I had a voice and that myself and my child mattered and we were not just numbers.
Anna – You listened carefully to me Jo and you helped me to start to take new perspectives on my thoughts and how I cope with challenges. Your use of metaphors helped me greatly to visualise what you were explaining and using them has helped me feel more centred.
Sam – ‘You are a wonderful coach Jo so easy for people to talk to!’
Kaya – ‘I felt a bit nervous before our first session, but it was great to have time just for me and I really enjoyed it. You made me feel very relaxed. It was so good to talk to someone who really listened and understood me. I was very surprised by the realisations that I had, particularly that I worry what other people think and don’t always feel appreciated. I was surprised that I had a lot of issues that I was worrying about. The positive suggestions that you gave me to work on were really helpful. I have dreamed of setting up my own project to help other people for a long time but with everything going on I just kept saying ‘I’ll do it one day’. With your encouragement and reassurance, I started my project for myself and I’m getting wonderful feedback and appreciation from the people that I’m helping. I also took action on one of the suggestions that we came up with to challenge the ‘system’ and improve the situation for my child, I now feel more confident that he will be happier in the future. It was reassuring to know I could talk to you if I had any worries, I had a family issue come up and no one to ask about it so it was valuable to talk someone who was neutral, non-judgemental and could draw out of me what the real issues were. The sessions made me feel really happy, thank you!’
Rachel – ‘you’re a good listener Jo and I felt that you understood me, my child was finding the feeling of some clothing so irritating that it was causing her to have a meltdown. I hadn’t heard of a therapy brush before and she really liked the technique you suggested. We are now talking to an Occupational Therapist (OT) and striving to get more support.’ (I would suggest talking to an OT about using a therapy brush as what works for one child but may not work for another).