A Free Sharing Session of Strategies and Techniques with Parents of High-Anxiety Autistic Youths and
More than two years ago, Jerome, my partner, and I made the heartbreaking decision to move Sebastien, my autistic son to Bali, after struggling for 5–6 years with his aggression and self-injury, which had turned our waking life into a perpetual crisis. Little would we know that this move would lead to a fortuitous encounter with Dr. Antonio Rinaldi, an Italy-based psychologist, who was holidaying in Bali. His tutelage and guidance shed light into the causes of the growing intensity of Sebastien's meltdowns over time, which had mystified me for years, and introduced me to new insights as to how to better interact with Sebastien and regulate his emotions.
Nonetheless, as our family was also going through a difficult transition, with the institution of Sebastien's life of independence away from me, it had not be easy for me to adhere to Dr. Antonio's teachings and become a good parent for Sebastien. Thus, it has taken more than one year of making changes in my life, as well as practising strategies and techniques on Sebastien (whenever we visit him about once every 1.5–2 months) for me to have acquired an intuitive understanding of how we can connect with our autistic kids to regulate their emotions and connect with them in a positive relationship.
In the past year, I have read and interacted with parents who have been struggling with their autistic teen and young adult children. Having gone through this journey myself, I can genuinely empathise with them.
This is why I would like to invite parents to a free 90-minute sharing session where I would share strategies and techniques with parents of high-anxiety autistic youths and young adults. During the session, we will also get to practise some of these strategies and techniques on one another.
Although this event is free, we do welcome any contributions of any amount to A Mother's Wish from participants. A Mother's Wish (www.amotherswish.com.sg) is raising funds to support effective programmes that cater to special needs youths and adults requiring lifelong support in the region.
Date and Time: Saturday, Dec 8, 7:30–9 p.m.
Location: Orchard (near Orchard MRT station, parking available)
More information about the venue will be provided to parents who register for the event.
