Welcome
to “On the Horizon”

Issue 93: Parenting Thoughts for the New Year: Changing “I Should” to “I Could”

On the Horizon is an award winning weekly ezine for parents of children with developmental disabilities who want simple, effective strategies to reduce stress, support their child’s development, and improve quality of life for the whole family.

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Information for Everyone

A Note from Nicole: Birthdays; Teleseminars

Idea of the Week:  Clean Light Fixtures

Feature Article: Parenting Thoughts for the New Year: Changing “I Should” to “I Could”

The Horizons Team Recommends: Parent Success Cards; Horizons Workshops

Upcoming Events: CORE Approach Parent Teleseminar; Sibshop

Hi Everyone!

I hope this finds you having a great start to your week!  We’re coming off a week of celebrating birthdays at our house.  Since my oldest son turned 10 last week, I can now say that I’ve been a parent for a decade.  In some ways it seems like time has flown by, but in other ways it’s hard to remember a time when I wasn’t a parent.  We made it through the week of birthday parties filled with lots of boys, energy, presents, and cake.  Now we get a break from kid birthdays until July!

This week I’m excited to announce two no-cost teleseminars I am holding in the next couple of weeks.  If you are a professional working with students on the autism spectrum you will want to click here for information on accessing the seminar titled: Autism Education Made Simple: What Most Experts Won’t Tell You About How to Make Educating Students With ASD Easier.  For those of you who are parents, you will want to click here for information on registering for the teleseminar titled: Simplify Your Parenting: What Most Experts Don’t Know About How to Make Parenting Children With Autism Easier.  Both teleseminars are offered at no cost to you, and you can access them from wherever you are located.

My feature article this week is about changing our mindset from one of “shoulds” to “coulds.”  Read on to see how this small shift can make a big differece.

Make it a great week!

Looking to the horizon,

Clean Light Fixtures

Most homes have many different kinds of light fixtures, and cleaning them together can provide great guided participation opportunities for you and your child.  This is an activity where a parent will be needed to help because you definitely don’t want to break a light fixture.  You’ll need to decide what cleaning supplies you’ll need and if you’ll need a step stool or something else so you’ll be able to reach the light fixture.  Make sure that the light is turned off and start your cleaning – some light fixtures need to be removed and cleaned at the sink and others have fans attached to them which require a little extra time and different tools.  So, depending on what type of light fixture it is make sure that as a team you figure out the best way to get it sparkling clean.

Parenting Thoughts for the New Year: Changing “I Should” to “I Could”

By: Nicole Beurkens, M.Ed.

The start of a new calendar year tends to be a time for us to reflect on the past year, and also make plans for what we envision in the 12 months ahead.  Some people make resolutions, write to-do lists, or set goals for themselves.  What often happens with these lists and resolutions, however, is that they fall by the wayside shortly after they’ve been written.  One of the reasons for this is the pressure we put on ourselves to accomplish these things; and that pressure and level of expectation leads to stress, resentment, and ultimately giving up on what we originally set out to do.

I recently heard someone talk about changing our “I shoulds” to “I coulds.” That really resonated with me on a personal and professional level, as it seems so easy to get caught in the trap of stressing about everything I “should” do.  When we think of things in terms of “I should,” we exist in a pressured state of feeling forced to do something.  Thinking about what I “could” do shifts us into a mindset of choice—I am deciding in this moment whether to do this thing.  It not only sounds different, but it feels different to phrase options from the perspective of “I could” instead of “I should.”  There is an internal mindset shift that occurs when we do this; and it allows us to move forward with trying to do the things we could, instead of getting stuck in the mode of pressuring ourselves to do what we should.

Since we are at the start of a new year, we have the opportunity to think about the year ahead in terms of “I coulds”  Instead of making lists of all the things we “should” do, why not think about all we could do and accomplish this year?  Here are some simple ways we can apply this thinking to our parenting and the relationships we have with our children:

Continued…

Parent Success Cards

For CORE Approach Program families, these cards provide reminders of the main principles of CORE Approach such as the importance of experience sharing, guiding, slowing down, staying focused on the marathon, finding small moments for remediation, and much more. You will find them an invaluable source of inspiration and guidance as you focus on remediation.

Set of 50 heavyweight full-color cards in a sturdy box with lid – $24.95

Purchase the set or view more samples here

HorizonsDRCWorkshops.com

You Have Questions.
We Have Answers.

Join us for learning experiences designed to provide you with the information, tools, and motivation you need to make a meaningful difference in the lives of individuals with autism and other neurodevelopmental disorders.

Horizons
Workshop Opportunities

• Evaluating for Autism: The Nuts and Bolts of Quality School-Based Autism Spectrum Disorder Evaluations

• Autism in the Classroom: Simple & Effective Strategies to Learn Today and Use Tomorrow

• Day of Change: A Groundbreaking Workshop for Parents of Children with Autism and Other Neurodevelopmental Disorders

• Extreme Makeover: Autism Education Edition

For more information, click here

Please join us!

• CORE Approach Parent Teleseminar: Topic:
  Biomedical Information
  Dr. Wycoff as the guest speaker
  (Horizons Families Only)
  Thursday, January 21, 2009 from 11:00-12:00 PM EST
• Horizons Family Fun Event:
  Bounce Party– bouncing, climbing, sliding, fun, and more!
  (Horizons Families Only)
  Saturday, January 30, 2010 from 10:30am-12:00pm $5.00/per child
• CORE ApproachParent Teleseminar: Q&A with Michelle and Courtney
  Topic: Scheduling
  (Horizons Families Only)
  Monday, Feburary 1, 2009 from 1:30-2:30 PM EST
• Sibshop- Horizons Sibling Network
  Open to everyone!
  Saturday, Feburary 20, 2010, 10:00 AM to 2:00 PM EST
• Workshop – Evaluating for Autism:
  The Nuts and Bolts of Quality School-Based Autism Spectrum Disorder Evaluations
  
• Workshop – Autism in the Classroom:
  Simple & Effective Strategies to Learn Today and Use Tomorrow
  Friday, March 12, 2009
• Workshop – Day of Change:
  A Groundbreaking Workshop for Parents of Children with Autism and Other Neurodevelopmental Disorders
  Saturday, March 13, 2009
• Extreme Makeover: Autism Education Edition
  August 4-6, 2010