Therapy for Parents of Neurodivergent Kids in Ohio
Because parenting a neurodivergent child in a neurotypical world is a different kind of hard that you can’t prepare for.
Your Experience of Parenting Has Been Different
You had a vision of parenting in your head, and your daily experience has been totally different. You love your kid and also you find the tasks of parenting them to be utterly exhausting. To make things harder, there isn’t a playbook for what you’re seeing and dealing with on a daily basis. Every parenting book, all the well meaning friends and neighbors give you advice that sounds good on the surface but in your gut you know it won’t apply to your kiddo (because you’ve already tried!) It feels more and more frustrating as the weeks and months go by and it’s feeling harder to be the type of parent you want to be when nothing you try seems to work.
Whether your child has been evaluated and received a diagnosis or not, in your gut you know that their brain is wired differently. Transitions aren’t just hard, they’re impossible. Feeding them isn’t just irritating, it’s overwhelming. Everything you’ve read and seen and heard about parenting doesn’t describe the experience of parenting the child you have. Your brain starts to put this information together and what it comes up with isn’t helpful: it must be me, I’m failing my kid.
Therapy may be for you if:
You’re confused about what parenting strategies will even work for your kid
Guilt and anger seem to be your go to emotions around parenting
It feels like nobody else gets it, like all the advice you receive makes you look like the bad guy who isn’t “doing parenting right”
Your gut is telling you your child has different, non-neurotypical needs but you don’t know how to meet them
You feel worried and consumed about your kid’s ability to fit in and have the life you hoped for them
It’s Been Harder Than You Thought
You just want things to be easier, for your child to be thriving and happy and yet your baseline is irritated and anxious. You’ve tried setting firmer boundaries, you’ve tried raising your voice so your kiddo listens to you (they still don’t do what you want them to). You’ve even tried sticker charts, punishments and every type of consequence you can think of. Still, you feel like a failure and the disruptive, combative and sometimes scary behaviors do not stop. Many of the parents who come to me want to have a “normal” parenting journey and also know deep down that their kid is neurodivergent (regardless of diagnosis or intervention).
The majority of my clients don’t know where to go next for answers but they know they want to feel heard and have what they fear is impossible: a happy, independent kid and a less stressed out parenting experience for themselves. Maybe you can relate on some level to having to mask your true self, having to be someone others wanted you to be. You would never wish that on your child and yet you feel like a hypocrite because sometimes, you really do wish your child would act like other kids.
You wish parenting was easier and not always a battle. Things that other parents describe as simple or even joyful are overwhelming and borderline torturous for you as a parent. Bath time sounds fun, but your kid hates the sensation of water on their face. Going out to a meal sounds like a stress reliever, but it adds more stress for your kiddo who struggles with environment changes. You start to feel like nothing you do is right. If you push and hold a boundary, it’s a blowup. If you “give in” and do what feels better for your child, you feel like a failure who lets their kid run the show.
Becoming The Parent You Were Meant To Be
My goal for parents who meet with me is to have a greater understanding of not only their kid’s internal system and needs but their own. Learning about your own self and what makes up your identity can and often does build connection and empathy with your child. Parents who work with me often find compassion where they used to find resentment. Therapy for parents of neurodivergent kiddos is not:
Me telling you what to do and how to “fix” your kid or your parenting
About figuring out the exact diagnosis of your kid as if that will magically ease any pain
Me telling you how you’ve been wrong or that all you need to do is (insert one book, blog, course, etc)
We’ll meet for our initial intake session to get a sense of what you’re looking for and what areas I can help you with. I love working with clients who want the best for their children, who strive for connection over perfection, parents who want to go deep into their own stuff and see how it’s been affecting their parenting and sense of failure. You may feel nervous to dig in, but the way we process and how quickly we go and how much you disclose is up to you. I’ll help you find the right tools and an increased sense of self confidence so you can be the parent you want to be, not the parent you’ve had to be to survive.
