Something was different about Kiera.
At the playground, at school, when she got together with friends… all the other kids ran and played together. Kiera just walked away from them, playing all alone.
Anything new, different, or unexpected was too much. Kiera would meltdown – or shut down.
Other children called Kiera, “The bad kid.”
Kiera’s mother asked, “What am I doing wrong?”
She heard other parents talking about playing with their children, these wonderful moments of connection. But she didn’t have that with Kiera.
The harder she worked at being a good and caring mom, the less connection she and Kiera developed.
She had dreamt of becoming a parent… prepared for it… but the dream had become a nightmare.
Kiera’s mother felt all alone.
Her friends said, “But Kiera’s so smart!” She knew her colors, numbers, shapes, letters…
Her mom asked, “Are you sure you want to get testing? Is it really fair to stick a label on a child?”
Kiera’s pediatrician said, “Just wait and see…”
Kiera’s father said nothing. He refused to talk about it at all.
What did the future hold?
Would Kiera ever have real friends? Would she have to go to a special school? Would that even help? Could Kiera grow up and have a job? Have her own family one day?
Nobody heard. No one listened.
Why would no one listen?!
Kiera’s mother decided to reach out to me.
I met with Kiera’s mother; we talked about all the ways she was working to understand Kiera.
Then I showed her she was an awesome mom and that Kiera’s challenges weren’t her fault. I then showed her what to do to really help Kiera.
We began working on providing new understanding, empowerment and growth for Kiera and her family.
Slow but steady progress…
Each time we met, we gained new insight into Kiera – why she was the way she was and how to help her grow at her own pace, in her own way.
There were no drills or unnatural activities. No forced skills. Just by making small, steady shifts in everyday activities, we were filling in the gaps and building Kiera’s mind!
We rarely had to teach skills – as Kiera’s mind grew, the skills came on their own.
As we worked together, Kiera’s mom began to understand and embrace her active involvement in the intervention process. From the beginning, I made it clear that she was the most powerful resource for Kiera’s development.
As Kiera’s father saw her progress, he wanted to be more involved, too. Kiera’s parents became an amazing team, working together for their daughter’s success.
Now? The sky’s the limit for our child!
We are now confident in our connection with Kiera. We really enjoy spending time together.
One day when we were playing together, Kiera looked up at me and said, “Mom, now that Miss Julie taught me about talking to people, I actually really like it!”
Kiera now has friends at school, and her teacher and principal are always sharing how well she’s doing.
I used to be afraid for Kiera’s future; now I’m just excited to see how far she’ll go!
If you have a child like Kiera, I can help. Reach out to me
today at julie.meyerowitz@hearmywordsautism.com, and we’ll schedule a
time for a 20-minute introductory connection call.
Hi, my clients call me Miss Julie…
…and the first thing you should know about me is that I’m allergic to the phrase: “This Child Will Never…!”
As parents, we often seem to have no choice but to just trust what the professionals and experts are telling us about our child. Even when what we’re hearing doesn’t seem right – about who our child is now and what we can hope for the future.
It can feel like we don’t have a lot of options… or that there are so many options, they’re impossible to wade through.
What I’ve learned is this: If someone’s telling you, “Your child will never…,” it simply means that you’re speaking to a person who doesn’t know how to help get you where you want to go. That’s it.
