Mighty Willows: Growing Your Child (Module 2 March 2025)

Workshop Overview

Growing Your Child is the second module of our Mighty Willows course.  In the first module, Knowing Your Child, we explored what contributes to behaviour differences, and learned about body based processes including neuroception and interoception.  Participants developed three documents - finding what uses up kids 'spoons', what gives 'spoons' back, and we began to explore ways that we can make accommodations or adaptations to expectations to help keep children regulated.  

We began to introduce the Collaborative and Proactive Solutions (CPS) model, developed by Dr Ross Greene, through introducing Plan C.

In Growing Your Child we will continue to build on this knowledge.  The session will cover:

- why commonly used strategies such as rewards or consequences simply don't work

- how we can help children develop new skills using CPS.  This introduction to CPS will provide opportunities to explore how we can create change through working alongside children. We will go through the different steps of CPS and have an opportunity to start developing some "unsolved problems", and learn how to engage children in conversation about these problems.

This workshop is relevant for anyone parenting, caring for, teaching, or otherwise supporting a neurodivergent (or possibly neurodivergent) child or youth.  The focus is on supporting children who have may differences in their emotional regulation - this includes children who show their difficulties externally (ie through behaviours that we notice), as well as children whose difficulties present through anxiety.  The course material is suitable for all ages as the models can be adapted for various age groups. 

Attendance Prerequisites

Attendance at Module 1 - Knowing Your Child, is highly recommend but not compulsory.  Participants need to have at least a basic understanding of neurodiversity, neurodivergent development and co-regulation.  Participants who are just beginning to explore how best to support a neurodivergent child are advised to attend Knowing Your Child before registering for this workshop.  

This is an introductory level workshop aimed at participants interested in adding to their parenting or teaching kete.  Participants who are already using co-regulation strategies and the CPS model are welcome to attend but may find the course material covers information they already know.

Facilitators
This session is jointly run by:

Sharyn Gousmett, Educational Psychologist and Director of Willow Corner. Sharyn will discuss the theoretical background to behaviour supports and why the CPS model is more likely to achieve lasting change than more traditional behaviourist models.

Rob Newlove, parent of 2 neurodivergent children.  Rob will discuss practical aspects of using CPS from the lived experience of having used this model with his children over the last two years.