By Lisa Palasti, originally posted on https://mindfulguideconsulting.com/mindful-parenting-and-moving-out-of-crisis/
Raising a child with Autism is no easy task – there is so much uncertainty surrounding the future of a child with a developmental disability. That uncertainty can cause a ton of anxiety and fear surrounding the child’s future and long term quality of life for the whole family. Perpetual states of crisis make it difficult for parents to learn to see the forest through the trees. Parents turn to well-intended professionals for advice. But what if that advice disempowers the parent by leading them to believe that they must access interventions that do not include them? That they must enroll their child in therapies all day long? That quantity of services circumvents quality? That Autism is behavioral disorder and if they can extinguish the behaviors that look like autism then their children will be cured? And that they themselves are not equipped to make the differences needed in their child’s lives?
That was my experience. I was so busy enrolling my kids in programs and therapies, driving them from appointment to appointment and yet I had no idea that I was the most important factor in helping my kids grow and develop. Without that understanding, I was more like their case manager than their mom. I was also over reliant on outsiders in helping me raise my kids. Some of those therapists were young enough to be my children and had no children of their own – but yet I found myself being told how to raise my kids by them and what they needed. Intuitive parenting was not part of the picture.
When I discovered RDI, my intuitive intellect kicked in – simply because it made so much sense! I finally felt hope and freedom from the hectic lifestyle I was living. I learned that I could make the difference in my kids’ lives and that more was NOT better. In fact, once I was granted the permission to slow down I found myself also moving out of crisis! What!? I could slow down too? And when I did my kids began to really flourish. With a less hectic existence they had more time to absorb their world and truly learn through our experiences TOGETHER! I learned how to mindfully guide those experiences and create truly meaningful engagements that provided the backdrop for a deeper emotional connection and motivation to learn from me.
Becoming a mindful parent lead to confident intuitive parenting. I could trust in myself and it was okay if I made mistakes along the way because those mistakes became the stepping stones to my own learning and future knowledge. RDI taught me about dynamic intelligence and once I understood how I used it in my own life, I was able to translate and transfer that to my kids. I am really passionate about sharing this knowledge with other parents because it has likely been the second best greatest gift I’ve received. The first were my two boys of course!
