I was enjoying a mani-pedi on Mother's Day when I became distracted from the spa-treatment-bliss. The lady beside me (being treated like a Queen: eating an ice cream, feet being massaged and her kids waving to her through the salon window) was talking to her best friend beside her about the stresses of family life. It was as if every family I have ever met was talking through this Mom - the complaints seem to be universal: children take a long time to get ready in the morning, they don't tidy up after themselves, siblings fight and bedtime is a nightmare.
At Kahlon Family Services, we can help you create a peaceful home. We won't wave a magic wand over your family frustrations, but our consultants can come to your house with a fresh set of eyes, and help you make change. Our approach is completely relational, with our work in homes centered around bringing families closer together.
Here are just a few ways we can help:
(1) Creating Routines and Schedules
Much of our blog is bragging about the benefits of routines and schedules. Predictability is often very important to people with special needs, and while we strive to stretch our children's flexible thinking, we have noticed that routine is extremely important when seeing children up for success. We can tailor your routines and schedules to simplify your day-to-day life, and provide essential framework in which your child can learn and grow.
Whether you're looking for new ideas for a morning routine, homework routine, bedtime routine or an overhaul of your entire weekly schedule - we can help.
(2) Observation & Feedback
We have consultants who can come to your house and watch how it runs - then from the observation they can give you some suggestions that may make your life easier. It can be fairly uncomfortable to have somebody watching how your home life works - so this kind of consultation won't work for everyone. Having said that, this is one of the best ways to make change because the consultant is seeing an accurate depiction of the issues that you may have trouble describing in words.
(3) Sibling Social Coaching
Many parents are extremely frustrated with the way their children treat one another. Certain special needs (such as Autism) can cause a child to have a lack of empathy, which can be very difficult for a typically developing sibling to understand. While we can't "fix" your children's relationship, we can offer tools, key words and techniques to help you manage their day-to-day interactions. We may also be able to help you understand the fine line between where your child is being unreasonable, and where he needs extra help understanding other people's feelings.
(4) Developing Parental Boundaries
Juggling family life is a full-time job! Many parents have never actually sat down together and discussed the ways in which they will work together when it comes to managing their children's behavior. Children know when their parents aren't on "the same page" and they will quickly learn to play you off of one another. This will not only cause more behaviors, but eventually it will cause some erosion in your relationship. We can help get the conversation started - and with a Behavioral Consultant's third-party input, it might just be easier to get the ball rolling.
(5) Respite for Families who have children with Special Needs
Parenting is the most difficult task you'll ever take on - and you need rest. If you have a child, or a young adult with special needs, we have people who understand kids with differences, and can take care of your child without you needing to worry about a thing.
Remember - nobody is a perfect parent! Hiring a Behavioral Consultant will not magically make you a perfect parent either - but we may just be able to bring a fresh perspective to your situation.
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