My world changed forever when I discovered my beautiful two-year-old boy had autism. All my hopes and expectations for my son, for myself as a mother, and for us as a family were changed forever in that moment.

My heart broke, but I got up the following day, fiercely determined to do everything I could for my son. I spent the next several years focused just on my son – to the detriment of myself, my spouse, and my family. I quit my job in public health research and put my career on hold. All my energy went into getting my son the help he needed. But, I was constantly stressed, unhappy, short-tempered, and feeling stuck and alone. My own anxieties, expectations, and reactions often made our family life even more challenging.

Finding my way back from those early chaotic years after my son's diagnosis took a lot of time and a lot of work. Living in Seattle, Washington, we had access to many resources for children with autism. However, the most significant difference in our family was taking the time and energy to work on myself. With the help of therapy, coaching, somatic bodywork, and an incredible community of other mothers going through similar experiences, I was able to become more resilient and hopeful.

Finally, having some breathing space for myself and not feeling like I was constantly in "fight or flight" mode gave me the opportunity to ask myself: "What's next?" Working with my own coach, I found that coaching was the most effective approach to making change. I realized that I wanted to become a coach and help other parents going through similar experiences.

Becoming a coach helped me in ways I never anticipated, making me a better parent with more compassion, acceptance, and patience. Parenting is still challenging. We have our good days and not-so-good days. I still have times when I wish I was less anxious and overbearing. Yet, I know that the tools I have learned through coaching have helped me weather the hard times more easily. I remind myself about progress, not perfection. When my youngest son was diagnosed with dyslexia and dysgraphia, I wasn't paralyzed and overwhelmed. Instead, I thought, "Okay, we've got this."

I became a coach because parenting is hard. Parenting children with complex needs is really hard. Parents deserve to parent with confidence, create a thriving family, develop strong relationships with their children, help their kids grow up confident and independent, and nurture themselves, not just their children.

• International Coach Federation, Associate Certified Coach (ACC)
• Co-Active Training Institute, Certified Professional Co-Active Coach (CPCC)
• Sanity School® Certified Coach

• Additional Coach Training: Positive Intelligence, Power of Embodied Transformation and
• Power of Presence (Coaches Rising), and Presence-Based® Resilience for Coaches
• (Presence-Based® Coaching)
• Master’s in Public Health, Emory University, International Health, Behavioral
• Sciences/Health Education