Author: Rebecca Manari | January 7th, 2022
As parents of children with special needs, we have more challenges in common than we tend to realise. This can often be used to our advantage. They say two heads are better than one, and this works well for parenting too! When we join forces and get together, we can achieve anything! Sharing our little coping mechanisms, ideas and solutions can certainly take us a long way in terms of reaching out for support and solutions to overcome these challenges. Joining a parent support group is the ideal platform for non-judgmental sharing and learning.
Sleep comes easy to many of us exhausted moms, but it’s an area where children on the Autism Spectrum often have struggles. Sleep issues don’t just cause distress to the child, they can disrupt an entire family’s routine and rest, and overall wellbeing and impact the following day. Overcoming this challenge is often hard, but not impossible.
Here’s what one mother of a two-year-old had to say about her own experience:
“I was struggling with weaning my two-year-old from breastfeeding. The night feeds were disturbing the family and ruining our sleep. On the Sethu Parents’ Support Group, I read another mom’s post about how she successfully weaned and sleep trained her little boy and it inspired me. It was my fifth attempt at weaning, but this time, I was successful overnight! I used all the techniques mentioned by her – I didn’t walk him or rock him to bed. I ensured he had a cup of milk so he was full. I didn’t pick him up in the middle of night. He learnt to self soothe and fall back to sleep all on his own. He was sleeping independently in less than a week. Now, we enter the bedroom, say good night sweetheart and turn the lights off. It’s completely fuss free!”
When we parents have a challenge in raising their children, it can often fill us with feelings of helplessness, guilt and failure. It is so hard to open up and admit our struggles. After all, we are all perfect parents, right? But just take that first step, talk with another parent, and more often than not, you’ll often see that these issues are more common than you thought. You may meet a parent who has been there in the past and has a great tip you’ve not tried or another who is in the same boat giving you the opportunity to bounce ideas, failures and of course success off of each other. Better yet, you may just meet a parent who has been through it all, found a solution and come out unscathed on the other side!
Parenting is a tough job and these challenges are just part of the path of becoming a well-rounded parent. No matter how slippery or riddled with potholes that path is now, the Sethu Family Support Group can hold your hand and walk with you ensuring you stay on track.