Compassionate guidance for parents of neurodivergent children and teens navigating autistic burnout
What the Pikler Approach Teaches Us About Connection, Sovereignty, and Burnout Recovery I began my career serving families as a teacher more than 25 years ago.Like many teachers of that time, I was trained in the behaviourist approach, a model inspired more by dog training than by human development. As a young teacher in my […] Read more…
A Collaboration Between Tanya Valentin and Laura Hellfeld Has your neurodivergent child ever said things like, “I hate you,” “I hate myself,” “I wish you would die,” or “I want to die” during a meltdown? Or perhaps they make unintelligible sounds, repeat the same words, cry, laugh, or say things that seem ‘inappropriate’ when they’re […] Read more…
A gentle, practical mini-course for parents of neurodivergent kids navigating meltdowns, shutdowns, and emotional overwhelm. Read more…
Parenting is an apprenticeship with grief. This post explores how acceptance, self-compassion, and belonging help us break cycles and heal alongside our children. Read more…
Breaking Generational Cycles of Shame, Grief, and Emotional Illiteracy in Parenting When I was a young parent, I came across a Facebook meme that said: I remember reading it late at night, peering down at my sleeping baby and toddler. I made a quiet promise to them right then: This will be our family’s story. […] Read more…
And how they became the foundation of everything I now teach. There was a moment, and maybe you’ve had one like this, where everything in me said, “I can’t keep doing this.“ My child was in deep burnout.I was in burnout.And nothing I tried was working anymore. The strategies that were meant to help only […] Read more…
This quote found me during a season of parenting when everything felt like it was falling apart. When the child I once knew seemed to vanish.When meltdowns, shutdowns, emergency room visits, hospital stays, and struggling to keep a teen alive who didn’t want to be here, and complete withdrawal became the norm. This was a […] Read more…
A tender look at grieving parenting expectations, change and the radical acceptance of who your neurodivergent child is becoming after burnout. There’s a question I hear often, though it’s rarely spoken aloud: “Will my child ever go back to how they were before burnout?” It’s such a tender, raw question. And underneath it is often […] Read more…
Are you a parent of a neurodivergent child in burnout struggling to keep your head above water while you try to navigate the change and chaos in your life right now? You are not alone, parenting through burnout recovery can bring an overwhelming sense of change—changes in your child, your family routines, and even in […] Read more…
How To Protect Your Child’s Emotional And Mental Well-being Trigger warning – this blog contains mention of self-harm and suicidal ideation; reader discretion is advised. My children’s teenage years were not easy (for them and for me). I have a fairly good memory of what it was like to be a teen, and I knew […] Read more…