Just like the journey of children with DYS, the journey of parents can sometimes be emotionally, physically and psychologically exhausting. Between the long medical journey before diagnosis and the worry about their child’s future afterwards, parents may need support to move forward with more peace of mind. Depending on their needs, parental coaching can revolve around 3 main areas: solution-focused coaching, supportive coaching, and parental guidance.
Solution-focused coaching, to deal with a problem
Borrowed from mathematics, problem-solving aims to take stock of the situation, in order to identify, with a degree of objectivity, the goal(s) to be achieved.
With learning disorders, parents can struggle to maintain discipline with their child, manage their tantrums, deal with their rudeness, conflicts between siblings, etc. Not to mention possible disagreements over parenting methods with their partner, or the relationship with the teaching staff.
Solution-focused parental coaching works towards understanding the situation, identifying triggering factors, and putting in place concrete tools and means to resolve the targeted difficulty.
Supportive coaching, for empathetic listening
As the name suggests, supportive parental coaching aims to offer a space for empathetic listening. Often stressed, anxious, exhausted, and overwhelmed by events, parents of children with DYS can come to doubt their ability to be good parents. This spiral is just as harmful for their child as it is for themselves.
Faced with these difficulties, the coach’s role is to offer time to listen and support, to help them grieve the loss of the “perfect child”. Once this stage is acknowledged (and processed), they can finally respond in a positive way and commit to a supportive approach to their learning difficulties.
Parental guidance coaching, to strengthen their role as parents
With a broader scope than simply solving a problem, parental guidance helps with setting up new learning and/or educational strategies: this support is generally carried out with all the healthcare professionals following the child (psychologists, child psychiatrists, speech and language therapists, occupational therapists, etc.).
The goal here is to guide parents in their role as educators, by giving them advice so they can acquire tools, skills and techniques suited to their child’s needs. Parental guidance aims to support both the child’s development and family communication.
Don’t hesitate to get in touch with the coaches on the Ora Visio platform: specialised in neurodevelopmental disorders, they fully understand what’s at stake. Finally, know that getting support from professionals is the best way to help your child with DYS, ASD (Autism Spectrum Disorder) and ADHD (Attention Deficit Disorder with or without Hyperactivity).
