Journey 1-Relationship with You
You deserve to focus on yourself.
Parenting special needs children can be an exhausting and daunting job. Betweeen IEP meetings, therapy appointments, caring for siblings, managing a partner relationship, working, and a host of other things, it can be difficult to find any “me time.” However, YOU deserve to be cared for and nurtured. No matter how stressed, overscheduled, and overworked you are, try to find just a few moments to focus on yourself. Whereas there are countless benefits of self-focus, stress reduction is a notable one for busy parents. When a parent experiences less anxiety, they have more emotional availability for little ones, leading to great bonding moments.
Focusing on You
01 — Take Time to Get Physical
It’s no secret that dealing with special needs kids is difficult and stressful. In addition to a long list of benefits, physical exercise is a stress and anxiety reliever. Find your groove, whether running, strength training, yoga, Tai Chi, or walking. Make time to get moving!
02 — Get Mental
SPD children can take a toll on parents and the family. You can find yourself feeling exhausted and overwhelmed. Find your support system, which may include meditation, Tai Chi, connecting with others, practicing mindfulness, or seeking therapy.
03 — Find Your Happy Place
Most people limit themselves by thinking of their happy place as a physical place. However, you need the ability to carry your Happy Place around with you. Therefore, the trick is to calm your mind, create actions plans, and give your mind productive things to think about. Once you’ve done this, do something or go someplace that makes you incredibly happy!
04 — Accept Yourself
It’s easy for parents to feel inadequate when their children constantly tantrum or melt down. Worse, we feel the judgement from other parents who don’t understand ASD or SPD. Squash your inner critic with your inner advocate. Accept yourself as the loving and giving parent that you are. We aren’t perfect, and never will be. Parenting is a learning process, and we all do the best that we can. After all, parents of special needs children are superheroes, handling tasks on a daily basis that parents of typical children would find impossible!
Journey 2-Relationship With Your Child
Once Journey 1 is well underway, and you are investing in yourself, more magical bonding moments can occur. For some great tips on connecting emotionally with your child, visit The Therapist Parent Blog at Blog | The Therapist Parent.