You have a child with an intellectual or physical disability, and life is incredibly tough. Your child may seem unwilling or unable to follow instructions or master new skills. Perhaps they have terrible tantrums or emotional meltdowns. Maybe they can’t make friends or play with their siblings.
As for you, stress is a constant. Holding down a job may be too difficult. You may feel isolated from your friends, your community – perhaps even from your partner or your other children. You possibly feel guilty and don’t know how to tackle your child’s problem behaviour. If the pressure of raising a child with a special need is straining your family life, Stepping Stones Triple P may help.
Stepping Stones is based on Triple P’s positive parenting strategies. It helps you manage problem behaviour and developmental issues common in children with disability. It also helps encourage behaviour you like, cope with stress, develop a close relationship with your child and teach your child new skills. You choose the type of Stepping Stones help based on your own needs. They range in intensity from light-touch seminars to ongoing courses.
Seminars tackle the most common issues for parents of children with a disability and bring together large groups of parents – often 20 or more. Each seminar takes just 90 minutes and you can do one, two or all three in the series. The topics in the series are: Positive Parenting for Children with a Disability; Helping your Child Reach their Potential; and Changing Problem Behaviour into Positive Behaviour.
This is a brief, personal and tailored way to get your Stepping Stones support. You’ll meet with a provider for about four sessions of between 15 and 30 minutes each time, tackling one or two specific behaviours or issues that are particularly worrying you. You could target anything from your child’s fears and anxiety to mealtime dramas.
You’re either having significant problems with your child’s behaviour or you simply want to know how to encourage your child’s development and potential. About a dozen parents come together for six sessions, which last 2 ½ hours each. Your Stepping Stones provider will also call you at home at pre-arranged times to offer support, feedback and ideas.
This is more in-depth and is recommended for families with significant problems. There are eight to 10 private consultations with a trained provider who’ll help you develop a wide range of positive parenting skills. Each session lasts about an hour.