Believe In Your Child - Hear It From The Experts
Last Saturday, I spent a wonderful afternoon at a seminar hosted by the Dyslexia Foundation of NZ. It was a refreshing take on many of these afternoons with a simple theme and takeaway – so much of parenting – or teaching or being a neurodiverse child – or adult - is about belief: self belief – and changing negative beliefs.
The afternoon kicked off with a warm address from the Children’s Commissioner, Judge Andrew Becroft, who shared his own experiences of growing up with a speech impediment and his parents being told that he must never head towards a career in academia, the church or law. His parents never told him this, continued to encourage and believe in his ability to make the right choice for himself - and the rest is history.
Judge Beecroft stated that the one thing, we can really do to support our children, is to truly believe in them. “In the words of one child: ‘really, just people who really believe in you is the most essential thing in having a good life – and people who support you no matter what',” Judge Becroft says.
Next to speak was Dr Rose Blackett, an Educational Psychologist who shared some wonderful wisdom and tips to support your children, from those who just learn differently, to the more mainstream child.
The following is shared with permission.
Superpowers – Owning and celebrating your ‘superpower’ is vital
We will be back with more tips for negotiating school and life - and some resources to help as well over the next weeks.
Noho ora mai
The afternoon kicked off with a warm address from the Children’s Commissioner, Judge Andrew Becroft, who shared his own experiences of growing up with a speech impediment and his parents being told that he must never head towards a career in academia, the church or law. His parents never told him this, continued to encourage and believe in his ability to make the right choice for himself - and the rest is history.
Judge Beecroft stated that the one thing, we can really do to support our children, is to truly believe in them. “In the words of one child: ‘really, just people who really believe in you is the most essential thing in having a good life – and people who support you no matter what',” Judge Becroft says.
Next to speak was Dr Rose Blackett, an Educational Psychologist who shared some wonderful wisdom and tips to support your children, from those who just learn differently, to the more mainstream child.
The following is shared with permission.
- Surround your child with an unconditionally secure and loving environment
- Family rules, routines and systems provide security and predictability
- Allow children to develop and practice social communication skills
- Spend time together – doing shared projects, foster common interests and activities
- Respect your child’s uniqueness – speak about their strengths rather than focusing solely on their challenges
- Build emotional resilience through acknowledging the feelings of the person
- Support your child to become an academic ‘explorer’ – (learning outside the classroom, in nature, their community, the sports field – their interests)
- Celebrate the journey – not the destination. (Celebrate sitting the test – not the results)
- Reassure them it’s OK to make mistakes and share your experiences and mistakes.
- Recognise your child’s superpowers – and your own!
Superpowers – Owning and celebrating your ‘superpower’ is vital
- Bravery – “I can conquer anything”
- Attention to detail – “I notice what others miss”
- Graphic artist – “I think in pictures – you think in words”
- IT Wizard – “I’m the computer wizard at home and school”
- Multisensory – “I can use all my senses on full power… at the same time”
- Big Picture Thinker - “ I can get the answer… when others are working on the steps”
- Spatial Knowledge/3D Thinker – I can navigate without a map using my picture thinking skills
- Memory – “I can take a photo in my head and store it in a file”
- Empathy/Emotional Intelligence – “ I understand how deeply people feel”
- Dyslexia – “I have the ultimate superpower – I have all of these”
We will be back with more tips for negotiating school and life - and some resources to help as well over the next weeks.
Noho ora mai