Guiding parents and teachers to manage challenges with Complex Kids
In 2011, we started with a simple mission: to support parents who wanted to help their medically complex kids – kids with ADHD, anxiety, depression, learning disabilities, autism, sensory issues, and more -- reach their full potential. We hadn’t created the term ‘complex’ back then, and ‘special needs’ never seemed to fit. So starting as ImpactADHD®, a condition our families shared, we created the first global online resource for parenting kids who didn’t ‘fit the mold’. Complex kids are quirky, or complicated, or (cont'd below)
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Leading Articles about Managing Complex Kids
Angry Parents: Handle Stressful Times with a Pause
Sometimes, everyday life is just much more stressful than you ever expect it to be. You end up playing the…
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5 Stages of the Special Needs Parent
When I co-edited Easy to Love but Hard to Raise: Real Parents, Challenging Kids, True Stories, with Adrienne Ehlert Bashista,…
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Choosing Self-Compassion Over Self-Esteem
Is Self-Compassion More Important Than Self-Esteem? An article I read suggested that it is. Growing up, I learned that self-esteem…
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Don’t Just Accept the Quick Answer
You gotta love our impulsive, distracted kids. So often, when we ask them a question, their first answer to us…
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5 Steps to Enter a Complaint Free Zone
I’m into rubber bracelet causes as much as the next girl, and I saw one on a friend that I…
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Why Don’t Kids Turn In Their Homework If They’ve Done It?
What can you do when kids don’t turn in their homework (when they’ve already done it)? Diane:This question is just…
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Managing My Reactions as a Parent
Does parenting a child with ADHD stress you out? It does for me, at times. While I know it’s hard…
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Write A Letter to This Year’s New Teacher(s)
Whether your child is moving on to the next grade, or making the leap to a new school, planning makes for a successful transition. At The Cloverleaf School, we work with our students to develop Learner Profiles. Each student helps to create a portfolio of useful information about how s/he learns and what s/he needs to succeed. This is helpful for the students, parents, teachers, and therapists.
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Dealing with Emotional Kids and Meltdowns
If there’s one thing parents of complex kids have in common, it’s dealing with emotional kids and meltdowns! Here are…
CONTINUED(continued) sensitive, or emotional, or hyperactive, or impulsive, or sensory – and there’s usually a medically complex explanation for their behaviors. We believe passionately that no parent should ever have to go through the journey of raising complex kids on their own. Parenting these complicated, fascinating young people doesn’t have to be isolating.
Complex kids struggle with fundamental aspects of life or learning. For their parents, traditional parenting methods often don’t work as effectively as we think they should. They may be helpful, but they always seem to fall short of really meeting our needs, which leaves us feeling inadequate, like we’re failing our kids. When our kids are different, they need something different from us.
At ImpactParents, we pledge to partner with parents and teachers to take the frustration out of daily life and guide you to manage daily challenges effectively, with confidence and good humor. This blog will introduce you to a proven method that relies on a coach approach – and it will support you in parenting, regardless of what ‘flavor’ of complex kid you are trying to support more effectively.
We’ll guide you to shift your expectations and communicate with less judgment and more acceptance. As a result, you’ll be able to give directions and offer advice without triggering defensive reactions. Your kids will see you as a member of their team and seek you out for guidance and support.
Regardless of whether your kids have autism, sensory issues, ADHD, learning challenges, or any of the many other mental health and learning challenges facing families today, the coach approach will help you become the parent you really want to be – the parent your children, teens and young adults need you to be. It will guide you to create the kind of relationship with your kids that you’ve always wanted.
Do you want to create lasting behavioral change? With this blog, we’ll guide you to lead your complex kids to become independent and successful adults, which is really what parenting is all about.