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CHILDREN AND INFANTS
Helping children and infants to grow and develop in healthier,
happier ways is a great privilege and responsibility that I take
very seriously. It is also a great joy! It's incredibly satisfying
to help people at such an early point in their development. They are
less ingrained in their habits, beliefs and behaviors -- and
consequently, making needed changes is often easier and has more
lasting impact than with adults. Also, helping children and infants
to feel and function better inevitably improves life for their
entire family and the widening circles beyond.
For children with an ADD/ADHD diagnosis or who exhibit
symptoms and behaviors on the ADD/ADHD spectrum, coaching
adapted to their age and special challenges has the potential for
wonderful, life-changing improvements. I can help children
understand and appreciate the often- paradoxical nature of their
extraordinary strengths and challenges. We explore together how to
appreciate their strengths and identify their special learning
styles. Using this knowledge, they begin learning how to make
changes in their thoughts, attitudes and behaviors so that they can
operate more effectively and confidently.
We can integrate ADHD coaching with biodynamic craniosacral
therapy and/or other stress reduction techniques as needed.
This is a
powerful combination because as children learn to reduce and manage
their stress, they become calmer, more confident and more capable of
tackling their challenges. Sometimes it is best to begin with
craniosacral therapy and then move into coaching once a child has
learned to access calm and to become better at self-comforting.
Biodynamic craniosacral therapy for children and infants
can be remarkably effective, probably because their nervous systems
are not yet as deeply imprinted with stress reactions as those of
adults. We will adapt the length, timing and structure of
craniosacral sessions to fit your and your child's needs. Children
who are old enough will benefit from age-appropriate coaching,
through questions and suggestions to help them process and later
access their craniosacral experiences.
Coaching for parents can also be very beneficial -- here, too, we will
incorporate coaching in ways that suit your needs and
lifestyle. This coaching has two goals:
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To improve your
ability to help your child reduce and manage his or her stress. |
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To improve your
ability to reduce and manage your own stress reactions so that
they do not inadvertently compound whatever stress your child is
experiencing. |
Client
comments.
It’s a great responsibility and a great pleasure to work with
children and infants. Here is what some of my clients say:
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"For the first time in his life, at 8 years old, my son, Aubrey,
learned what “calm” feels like and that he can make a choice to
stay calm. Since he was 18 months old, Aubrey had several tantrums
a week with prolonged yelling and throwing things. He has ADHD and is dyslexic,
and his frustrations got worse after he started school. We
helped him regain control mostly by holding him physically, but
this became increasingly difficult as he got older. The intensity
of Aubrey’s tantrums started to diminish about 5 weeks after he
began craniosacral therapy with Faith. His tantrums stopped about
three months into treatment. He would still get angry or
frustrated, but I could actually see him gaining control over his
temper. About five months after we started coming, Faith suggested
that Aubrey read to us while she held his feet. When he got stuck,
she would remind him to focus on his internal sensations of calm.
He began reading on his own and even sneaking books to read under
the covers at night. It’s now 5 months since we stopped coming to
see Faith, and Aubrey has continued to progress. He still
gets frustrated easily but now he can ground himself and continues
to be tantrum-free. He is much more affectionate, more confident,
and better able to verbalize his feelings. His sleep has improved;
so have his reading, writing and spelling. Life for our whole
family (we have four children) has improved enormously. Aubrey
always enjoyed going to see Faith. She is very child-friendly and
put us both at ease. Aubrey was even willing to miss play dates to
go to his craniosacral appointments.
-- Aubrey’s mother |
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“Mrs. Faith is nice, understanding and patient. I have better
control of my temper. I learned that I can control not getting in
trouble as much and that practicing reading makes me better. The
best part was reading while she was holding my feet.”
-- Aubrey, eight years old |
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“My son, Rowan, was
born with an extremely tight muscle in his neck that pulled his
head to one side. He was not a happy baby. He cried a lot and
hardly slept. I took him to see Faith when he was 3 months
old, about a month after we started physical therapy. By the
time we got home from our first appointment with Faith, Rowan was
like a different baby – he was so calm, and I was so calm. I
realized that the calming effect was having a lasting impact after
we missed an appointment and it was nearly two weeks before he
started getting fussy again. We would have had a much harder time
had we not been seeing Faith because my son needed something
besides the physical therapy exercises to help him settle down.
Just a few visits with her made a huge improvement. She was
usually right on the money about picking up on what was bothering
Rowan. Faith gave me lots of extremely helpful advice that I
hadn’t thought of. I felt very calm and comfortable with her. She
has a very soothing manner and she was great with my baby.”
-- Rowan’s mother |
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