I have been in business in Orange since 2012 when Learn2Communicate was launched to support families and educators nurture the speech, language and communication skills of all children.
We now have an awesome team in our Anson Street office and absolutely love working with so many families across our region to support you with your children’s development.
Let’s face it, parenting can be a very exhausting, tough yet extremely rewarding gig. For the families we work with, they also have to work through coming to terms with the fact that their child has a developmental challenge, needing to attend regular therapy appointments and completing home practice on top of everything else we all do as mums….it can result in considerable stress, overwhelm, guilt and anxiety added to the lives of the families we work with.
I encourage all of the ‘therapy mums and carers’ out there to think about providing yourself with a little self compassion if your therapist offers you a ‘break’ from regular appointments over the school holidays.
Take some time to think this over before you answer the question…to really think this over.
Okay, so I can already feel the rising panic and hear some of you saying:
“I might lose my therapy spot”,
“My child will regress and it will be my fault”
“My child won’t get to where he needs to be before school if we take a break”
Can I please challenge you to consider thinking of some alternatives such as:
“I will feel recharged and energised for Term 1 if we take a break now”
“I have developed skills and strategies to support my child’s development in everyday routines and can enjoy doing that throughout the holidays”
“My child and I can prioritise our relationship and having fun together over this period without the added pressure of needing to complete therapy tasks”
For many of you, therapists, home practice and appointments will be part of your life for several years. I have been in this game for long enough now to know that the parents/carers who eventually ‘get there’ take ownership of their child’s therapy direction, prioritise different goals at different times depending upon family priorities, and look after themselves as well as their child’s needs.
If we are going to be in this for the long haul, let’s have some fun along the way and reward ourselves with well earned guilt-free breaks when needed to keep our energy high, our motivation strong and our emotional health well nourished.
