Samir and Aryan’s Success Story
This blog is a success story shared by Priya, mother of two boys. This is their journey from overwhelm to hope.
In 2013, our family was navigating parenting adventures with two boys ages 3 and 4. The boys’ teachers said they needed more attention and support at school. Even with teachers’ efforts to help the boys engage and have fun with peers, they still spent most of their time in solitary activities.
We had a feeling that our older son may have autism, but we didn’t have a definite diagnosis. Our younger son also had difficulty engaging with teachers and peers, and his requests were not able to be heard over the usual chatter of kids.
With the help of a therapist, we found a resource that specialized in child-centered play, classroom inclusion, and parent coaching, all in one! Rebecca supported Samir and Aryan in the classroom, our living room, the playground, the bookstore, the fire station and more! She met the boys where they were, always at eye level, and offered guidance and modeling for positive ways to engage. Her guidance supported not only the boys, but also us as parents, their teachers, and their peers.
I remember Rebecca transforming an ordinary field trip into an amazing and interactive sensory experience! From fish in the seafood section to dragon fruit in the produce section, Rebecca modeled rich vocabulary, facial expressions, and funny voices that ruled the day!
There are several ways Rebecca’s intervention has impacted our family’s lives. I will briefly focus on three of them.
Rebecca instilled creativity, passion, and playfulness in my kids, and that spilled into their parents! I remember when Rebecca played a card game with my kids and then invited them to toss all 52 cards into the air and try to catch them as they landed. I was reluctant at first, but I found myself enjoying time with my kids and laughing and learning alongside them. The boys are in middle school now, and I still see that same spark, creativity and playfulness that was lit by Rebecca!
Rebecca helped our family relate to our kids. I grew up in a different generation, and when I was pregnant with our first son, I made a promise to love, nurture, protect, and guide my children the best I could. Four years later, Rebecca helped me make another promise and follow through on being calm in interactions with the children. If I got upset, angry, or my voice changed into a steely, hard tone, that would make my boys upset and push more. If I remained calm, then my boys would eventually pause and listen. I’m still reminding myself on a daily basis to parent from love and calm, and it’s helping us raise our pre-teens now!
On one particularly challenging day, my annoyed 5 year old locked me, Rebecca, and my younger son out of the house! Rebecca encouraged me to continue playing the game outside on the porch instead of knocking on the door and yelling his name. My calm and keeping attention on the game, not the behavior, helped him calm down. He unlocked the door, came outside, and played with us!
Rebecca showed us how to advocate for my children and work with teachers and administrators to give them the help they needed and deserved. She taught us the power of collaborating with therapists and showed me how important our role was on Team Samir and Team Aryan. Working with Rebecca gave us valuable skills in communicating with teachers and therapists, reflecting and learning from both victories and failures, and always trying to encourage, celebrate, and motivate our children.
Our sons’ learning journeys have continued at the wonderful schools Rebecca recommended, where they have worked with amazing therapists that continue to build on the foundation Rebecca created with us. It can be challenging at times to raise pre-teenagers, but we do it through encouragement, forgiveness, reflection, and occasional silliness together...just like Rebecca taught us.
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