Topics
Anxiety Autism Burnout Demand Avoidance EHCPs Low Demand Parenting Mental Health Neurodiversity SEN School Screens Trauma
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Being a parent is hard, and it’s even harder when your child doesn’t conform to what everyone else expects. Perhaps their behaviour is very different to others their age, or perhaps they really struggle to learn the things that other children are learning. You are always on high alert, waiting for things to go wrong. It’s easy to feel that as their parent, you aren’t getting it right.
It’s one of the ironies of parenting that we tend to judge a parent by their child’s behaviour. It means that those parents who have the easiest-to-manage children tend to think of themselves as the most competent parents, whilst those who are doing the hardest job tend to think of themselves as inadequate. It means that a lot of the parenting advice out there can miss the mark, because it’s clear that those giving it just don’t know how tough things can be.
Our parenting courses and webinars are down-to-earth, realistic but also hopeful. We acknowledge how hard things can be, and what a difficult and unappreciated job you are doing – and hopefully give you some ideas to find a new way forward.
What is demand avoidance? Dr Naomi Fisher will explain the psychology of demand avoidance and what parents can do to help.
Does your child need more help in school? Are you wondering about the EHCP process? Come and get some tips from an educational psychologist.
Are you worried about smartphones and your teen? Dr Naomi Fisher will explain the fears, the risks and the benefits and what you can do.
Are mealtimes a battle - and the harder you try, the worse it gets? Maybe you need a low demand approach to food. We'll show you how.
Does your child's behaviour confuse you? Does most of the parenting advice you are given make things worse? Do you feel like you are walking on eggshells? In this course, Dr Naomi Fisher will explain the psychology of demand avoidance. What is it, how does it affect the nervous system - and importantly, what can parents do? You'll end with a clearer idea of what is going wrong and some ideas as to how to help.
What happens when demand avoidance meets adolescence? In this mini-course, Naomi will explain what’s going on in your adolescent’s brain, and how that interacts with demand avoidance. She’ll help you understand what is going on for your child, and give you some practical ideas as to how to help your young person (and yourself) get through these important years. This course is suitable for teenagers with and without a diagnosis.
Demand avoidant children have an anxiety-driven need to resist the demands of every day life. In practice this can mean that they say No a lot. They may refuse all suggestion, or refuse to go out. This can make life really challenging for families. Lots of families get stuck, unable to change things which really need to be done differently, becuase their child responds so intensely. Naomi explains why demand avoidant children find change so hard, and will give you the tools to help them manage necessary changes. You'll end the course with a better understanding of your child and what they find challenging, and some ideas to help them.
In this practical and engaging course, Dr Naomi Fisher, clinical psychologist, will help you understand the developmental changes of early childhood. She'll show you how anxiety works, and how parents can make a difference. You'll understand your child better, and therefore be better able to help.
In this course, Dr Naomi Fisher will explain the developmental changes going on between the ages of 6 and 13. She'll explain how anxiety works, how children can get stuck, and what parents can do to help. This course is suitable for all children who experience anxiety, whether they have a diagnosis or not.
Many teenagers are anxious, and their parents don't know how to help. Worries about school, worries about friends, anxiety which just seems overwhelming - what's going on? Naomi will explain how anxiety works and how brains change in adolescence. She'll go on to explain why adolescents are often anxious - and give parents some ideas as to how to help their teen.
Some children and young people seem to withdraw from life. Their anxiety becomes so severe that anything which might have helped seemed to make things worse. They may find it hard to come out of the bedrooms or to leave the house. Parents are left not knowing what to do next. Naomi will help you to think about severe anxiety through the lens of the nervous system and give you some practical ideas to help your child.
An increasing number of parents are saying that their children have 'lost their spark' and don't enjoy things in the way that they used to. They are exhausted and lacking in energy. Some of them become completely unable to attend school and stop doing things they used to be able to do. In this new course, Naomi discusses burnout in children and what can parents do about it. She'll describe the factors which contribute to burnout and how parents can prevent it. She'll then move on to talking about children who are already burnt out and will give some tips for helping them to move towards recovery.
Parenting is hard work. You spend your time fighting the system for what they need and the demands can be relentless. There's never time to stop and reflect before the next crisis begin. You're burnt out by the demands, and the thing is, you can't take a break from parenting. There's no option of taking some time off to recover. You can't renegotiate your hours. In this new course, Naomi talks about what parenting burn out is, whether you might have it and how you can start to recover, whilst continuing to meet the needs of your children. It will give you some ideas as to how to start to turn things around.
You might be just starting to wonder if your child might be autistic, or you might be post-diagnosis and trying to make sense of it all. You might have gone through the assessment process with your child and not got a diagnosis, and be trying to work out what that means. In this new course, Naomi will talk about what autism is, and the different ways in which it is now being understood. She'll introduce different theories of autism and touch on the controversies.
Many autistic children are anxious. Dr Naomi Fisher, clinical psychologist, will help you understand some of the reasons and will show you some ways you might be able to support your child. You will leave with a better understanding of what might be going on, and some ideas as to how you as the parent can help.
Why are so many autistic teenagers anxious - and what can parents do to help? Gain understanding, insight and practical tips in this mini-course by Dr Naomi Fisher.
Many autistic children express anger in ways which surprise their parents. It's so loud, so out-of-nowhere, so extreme. Parents say it can feel like they are walking on egg shells, never sure what might set their children off. They worry that perhaps their children are terribly unhappy and it's all coming out in anger - is it something they've done wrong? Naomi Fisher, clinical psychologist will talk about why autistic children often have outbursts of anger (both external and internal), how it builds up and how to help them. She'll give you some practical tips and strategies to help your child and your family.
Life is full of transitions - and many autistic children find them really difficult - which means that their parents find them hard too. Life can feel like walking on eggshells. Dr. Naomi Fisher will help you gain a new understanding of why transitions are so hard, what makes it worse - and how to help.
Dr Naomi Fisher will explain OCD (obsessive-compulsive disorder) and how it can interact with autism. She'll describe how parents and children can fall into OCD traps, and what to do to get out. She'll give you some ideas to help your child, even if they themselves don't think that there's a problem.
Living with your autistic child is like walking on eggshells. They sleep badly, they cling to you and they have extreme reactions to seemingly small events. They are very scared of particular things, and you aren't really sure why. Naomi will explain how trauma affects the brain - and why understanding trauma in autism requires us to look beyond major traumatic events to understand the person's individual experience.
Your child isn’t happy at school. They are protesting in the mornings, or having meltdowns in the afternoons. They tell you that they don’t want to go, and you feel torn between them and the school. School are telling you that the answer is to keep pushing, as you don’t want to reinforce avoidance or behaviour. It’s starting to dominate everything about your family life, and it doesn’t seem to be getting any better.
Things have gone wrong at school for your teenager, and now it’s like they have nothing left. They have lost their sense of what made life worth living. You don’t know how to help, and sometimes it seems like whatever you do makes things worse. Naomi will explain how burnout happens and what the process of recovery looks like.
Is your autistic child having problems at school? Naomi offers ways to think about the issues, and tools and strategies which will help you make changes for your child.
In this mini course Naomi will talk about school trauma, how it occurs, what makes it worse and how parents can help. You'll leave with a new understanding of what has gone on for your child, why they are still affected by the past, and some ideas of what to do. This course will combine psychological theory with practical strategies and ideas.
Are you worried about whether your child is getting the right support in school? Do you want to know more about EHCPs and how to get one? This course will explain the Education, Health and Care plan process from a parent's perspective and show you examples of what a good plan looks like. Dr Abigail Fisher, educational psychologist will discuss how to approach common issues and challenges. She will offer some tips on how to get a useful plan, and how to look at a draft plan, drawing on her experience working with schools and parents.
In this mini-course, Dr Abigail Fisher, educational psychologist, delves into effective strategies for working hand-in-hand with school to support your child's unique needs. This course will give you insight into what's possible and help foster a positive and collaborative relationship with your child's school.
Are you a parent navigating the complexities of the Special Educational Needs (SEN) Tribunal process? Parents say it ranks as one of their most stressful life events. This course is designed specifically to guide parents through the challenging journey. Whether you're new to the process or seeking to deepen your understanding, this mini-course by Dr Abigail Fisher (Educational Psychologist) will equip you with the knowledge and confidence you need to advocate effectively for your child's educational needs.
Dr Abigail Fisher, Educational Psychologist, will help you navigate your child’s EHCP Annual Review with confidence. You’ve got the EHCP in place, but it’s only the start of the process. She describes what should happen and when, what the legal process is and what your rights are. She will share ideas about how to make the process as useful as possible, to help ensure your child is well supported and their needs are met.
EOTAS is a provision for students whose needs cannot be met within a traditional school setting, and is a bespoke, individualised education. In this course, Dr Abigail Fisher, educational psychologist, will help you understand the process, benefits, potential costs and unexpected challenges of EOTAS.
Are you wondering if your child is neurodivergent - but aren't sure what that actually means and what you should do about it? This course is the place to start. Understand what neurodiversity means, how it relates to other ways of understanding difference and get some ideas as to how to talk to your children about neurodiversity and help them to thrive.
Many neurodivergent teens are struggling to attend school, and lots of them become completely unable to attend. But what happens next? Teenagers often believe they must be at school to learn, and that their future is over. This isn't true. We don't talk much about education outside school, but it's happening all around us. In this new course, Naomi will give you some ideas to help your teenager re-engage with learning and see a life beyond school. This course focuses on the learning and educational journey, rather than mental health.
This bundle gives you all 10 webinar recordings from Activate Your Parenting through to What About Me? They are updated when new low demand parenting webinars are hosted. Recordings are available to watch for 12 months after purchase.
The bundle contains the following 5 webinar recordings: 1. Activate Your Parenting 2. Communication 3. Behaviour 4. Emotions 5. The Real World They are updated when new low demand parenting webinars are hosted. Recordings are available to watch for 12 months after purchase.
This bundle gives you the second 5 webinar recordings in the Low Demand Parenting series. It contains: 6. Other People 7. Screens 8. School 9. The Future 10. What About Me? They are updated when new low demand parenting webinars are hosted. Recordings are available to watch for 12 months after purchase.
Updated with a new version in 2024, Dr Naomi Fisher and Eliza Fricker will show you how low demand parenting is anything but 'doing nothing' and help you see your way through to creating a happy family life. It will be reassuring, positive and free of blame or shame.
Updated for 2024! It's hard to be a parent when your child doesn't respond to mainstream techniques. We'll show you a different way in this new and updated webinar recording.
Updated for 2024! Some children just don't respond to conventional approaches to behaviour. What do you do when the naughty step makes things worse?
Updated for 2024! Some children are highly sensitive to emotions and pressure, and parenting them takes a whole new skillset. Dr Naomi Fisher and Eliza Fricker explain why many mainstream parenting approaches can make things worse and how to parent to help your child learn to manage their emotions.
Updated for 2024! What do you do when mainstream parenting makes things worse - but you still need to live in the real world?
Dr Naomi Fisher and Eliza Fricker take on tutting in the supermarket, disapproval in the playground, and grandparents who can't see why you don't insist on Saying Please. And they'll discuss what happens when parents disagree about the right approach, or when professionals get involved.
Updated for 2024! How do you manage screen time, when your child doesn't play by the parenting rules?
How can you be low demand parents, whilst your child goes to school? What can you do to take the pressure off and give them the space to thrive? That's what we'll be discussing in this new webinar.
Some children are pressure-sensitive. They react to traditional parenting methods in unexpected ways. The more their parents try to set firm boundaries or implement reward systems, the worse things get.
How can you make space for yourself, whilst also doing the best you can for your children? How can you make sure your own needs matter, when your child's needs are so high that they can't be put aside? Is it even possible for life to feel more sustainable?
These are signs that you are experiencing burnout - your battery has taken a battering and you are running on empty. Many people think burnout only happens to adults, but it's something lots of teenagers experience too.
This book will help you to understand what burnout is, how you got there and what you can do to get back to a life you enjoy.
A down-to-earth illustrated guide for parents of children who just haven't read the parenting books.
Some children just haven't read the parenting books. The harder you try, the worse it gets. There's a hidden contract at the heart of parenting. It's the idea that if parents just get it right, their children can be made to do what they want. Manuals explain how to make it very clear to your children what you want them to do - and how to respond when they don't cooperate.
If you are a parent worrying whether self-directed education will work for your child, because you have been told that they have special needs which can only be met in the school system - think again. Neurodivergent children experience and interact with the world differently to many of their peers. Standard educational systems often fail to adapt to their unique strengths and ways of learning. School, and even the act of learning, can become a source of great anxiety and trauma. Self-directed education offers an alternative to traditional schools that can help neurodivergent children develop at their own pace and thrive.
Children are born full of curiosity, eager to participate in the world. They learn as they live, with enthusiasm and joy. Then we send them to school. We stop them from playing and actively exploring their interests, telling them it's more important to sit still and listen. The result is that for many children, their motivation to learn drops dramatically. The joy of the early years is replaced with apathy and anxiety.