Many of the families I work with struggle with the same issue- there simply is not enough time in the day!
This is an issue that all parents struggle with- but especially parents of a child with autism. Between all the therapies, special diet preparation, IEP meetings, etc- 24 hours just doesn’t cut it.
This is why sharing time management strategies are an important part of what I teach my private coaching clients. In fact, I just did an entire lesson with my ” ICAN! Deep Dive” members on 4 time management tips to help you take control of time (instead of time taking control over you!) and I wanted to share one tip with you today.
Time Management Tip: Lighten Your Load
Often families, understandably so, will try anything and everything to help their child with autism and spend their days in the car, going from one therapy to the next and spending endless hours in traffic or waiting rooms.
But here is what I have seen: LESS IS MORE. What will help your child most is quality versus quantity. This is why I encourage you to lighten your load (and your child’s load!).
Here’s how:
1. Make a list of all the treatments/therapies you do with your child.
2. Review this list, one by one, and ask yourself these questions:
-Have I seen a visible impact from this therapy with my child?
-Was is the net value my child is getting (meaning how much therapy time compared to total travel time)?
-Is this particular therapist a good match for my child?
As you review each treatment, one by one, see if there is anything you are ready to drop or take a break from for now.
See how much time you can free up in your schedule and then you can use this time to spend quality time with your child (something that may rarely happen) or use this time for YOURSELF (rejuvenation and rest is critical to make sure you have the fuel in your tank to go the distance with your child).
Case Study: A family in Israel came to me 1 year ago burnt out and frustrated. They were taking their child to every therapy they could (why not? it was all subsidized by the state) and were spending HOURS in the car, in traffic and the worst part was that they were not seeing growth in their child. After our consultation they dropped all but one therapy and used that time spending quality 1;1 time with their child instead. What happened next? This child went from zero words and an attention span of a butterfly to using 2-3 word sentences, playing games for 10-15 minutes at a time and can identify more parts of a car engine than I ever will. Plus, the parents felt like they could breathe again!
LESS IS MORE.
Instead of throwing everything at your child and seeing what will stick- I encourage you to make mindful decisions based on reflecting on what is helping and what is not.
What are you taking from this article? How can you use this time management tip to create more balance in your life? Share your comments below!