Choosing a Different Path
It takes courage to step away from the school system that everything instinctual is telling you is harming your child. To then find yourself with a child who appears to regress and doesn't wish to access anything academic can feel deeply distressing. You are not alone. Children are capable of directing their education, but this can only become a possibility for them once their nervous systems can access safety. Time to heal without expectation is essential to build back that trust. Only then can the magic happen!
How does email support work?
With email based support, there are no phone calls or appointments to keep.
We will connect on a basis a little like weekly pen pals, but with a key difference. Our communication will be about you and your family. The challenges you are facing, your goals and ambitions. I will provide reflections, pattern analysis, emotional support and gentle practical strategy ideas for specific stress points. We can work on whichever issues you feel are most important, or we can discuss generally what is happening in your home and I can offer suggestions on where we start first. This type of support works best on a long term basis, giving us the opportunity to build a relationship and deeply understand your specific needs.
I decided to set up Soft Landing Parenting as an exclusively email based offering because I truly believe it's what so many parents of PDA children need. When my daughter was younger I would simply not have been able to commit to a weekly call, no matter how I would have wished for someone to talk to who understood. We had periods of time when I was unable to be in a different room to my daughter 24 hours a day and the privacy necessary to benefit from any support would have been impossible. How burnt out I felt also meant I would have felt deeply reluctant to commit to yet another demand on my time, and my introverted nature would have meant accessing even a zoom based coach would have felt yet another draining expectation on my never ending list. So instead I sought support online, which though helpful felt overwhelming with conflicting advice and an inability to get to the depth of our issues. After many years of learning and finally finding a place of such peace and confidence in my parenting, I want to share what I have learnt and help other families create the happiness and deeply rewarding relationships we have now cultivated at home. My daughter is now a very happy girl who is an engaged self directed learner, with wonderful friendships and a confidence and self assurance I could not have imagined before.
Having now explored email based coaching I can tell you it taps into a place in our hearts we often cannot reach with spoken communication. There is power in writing things down, a creative expression that can help us clarify our thoughts and feelings. Many parents of PDA children are neurodivergent themselves, which can most often come with introversion. This style of coaching can enable us to open up and feel a little braver than we can face to face. I am far more prone to masking and people pleasing in verbal communication, and my true self can emerge when I am writing in solitude. We also benefit from a little more space for ideas to sit and be considered. Beyond all the benefits of the response to the email, even just writing everything down can validate how difficult things are and create a little grace within ourselves.
As we work together we also benefit from a written record, enabling perspective to identify wins we can celebrate, and see how far we have come.
For me, when I sit down and respond to my clients in the calm and quiet of my workspace, I can more easily tune into my intuition and the inspiration will spark! There is purpose in the written word, and the consideration it requires. It also means when my clients have wobbles and feel overwhelmed they do not have to wait for a scheduled appointment to get all of their concerns, questions and frustrations out. They can write to me when they feel called, and will have had time to process before my response, creating that space to respond and not react. Clients in the past have shared how often the mere act of describing what has been happening in writing will help them see potential solutions themselves, rather than just reacting in the moment when we are often triggered.
This support is here to offer steadiness, reflection and a place to think without urgency. If it feels aligned, I will be here when you are ready. This is a space for slowing down, making sense of what you are seeing, and feeling less alone. Trust your sense of what feels right for your family. Support should feel chosen, safe and steady.
