Supporting parents and Enabling children

Power to Parent

Power to Parent is Autism Champions flagship programme.

At Autism Champions we see autism as just another way of being human. Power to Parent focuses, not only on the child, but all those around them. We believe that meeting your own needs as a parent is paramount and must take centre stage if you are to be the parent you want to be.

Power to Parent can be delivered in a range of ways, and purchased privately or commissioned by services such as the NHS or Social Care.

“Autism isn’t an illness. It’s a different way of being human. Autisic children aren’t sick, they are progressing through developmental stages as we all do. To help them, we don’t need to change them or fix them. We need to work to understand them, and then change what we do. In other words, the best way to help an autistic person change for the better is to change ourselves – our attitudes, our behaviour and the types of supports we provide.””

— Dr. Barry Prizant - Uniquely Human

How Power to Parent will help you

Aims

By the end of the Power to Parent course you will:

Understand autism, through the lens of your child.

See your child’s behaviour for what it really is - their attempt to communicate with you.
Understand how to support their needs and in doing so see their behaviour change.
Learn real-life ideas for your own family which will make a difference.
Explore your anxiety and your child’s and understand it better.
Allow yourself to set boundaries and to make mistakes. Allow yourself to say no to things, to meet your own and yours child's needs.
Understand what works for your child and feel empowered to speak to your child’s education setting or workplace so as to ensure they are being supported adequately.
Learn how to become the parent you want to be for your child.

Remember, you need to be willing to challenge the ‘normal way’ of doing things and be willing to take some risks. Change is easy, sticking with it takes courage!

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Is this course for you?

Your child’s
experience

If you identify with some or all of the below, Power to Parent will be beneficial to you and your child.

…like your child controls the home, when you leave the home, and/or how you leave the home?
…can’t be on their on their own?
…always needs someone with them?
… can’t even let you go to the loo on your own?
…will only be in one room of the house?
And bedtimes, don’t even talk about it - let's just say you dread them.
…what clothes they wear?
…what foods they eat, when they eat, what they eat with, where they eat, who they eat with?
Or perhaps your child is no longer eating at all.
…biting their nails too far, banging their head, picking at their skin, pulling their hair, scratching, or cutting?
We all have ways of coping, but when it’s causing our children distress and pain, it needs to be acknowledged.
…your child won’t leave their room, won’t interact with anyone, or refuses to go to school.
…and even though we don’t want to admit it, can be frightening, and at times violent, hurting you and others.

The school’s
experience

Your child's school may say things like…

“He is fine at school.”
“You just need to be more consistent.”
“She is playing you.”
“He is very manipulative.”
“Just leave her, she will be fine when you go.”
“He just won’t sit still, he is always messing.”
“She is choosing to behave this way.”
“He likes being on his own.”
“She just needs to learn how to fit in.”

Or has your child just been excluded completely?

Your own
experience

Do you…

…feel like you are constantly walking on eggshells,
…constantly trying to avoid meltdowns,
…making continual changes to your day, so as to keep the peace,
…continuously on edge,
…and feeling like you are getting this all wrong…?

Oh, and are you completely exhausted?

Do you…

…believe you are the expert on your child?
You know what they like, you know what they need, but feel constantly gaslit by your child’s school and extended family.

…know something isn’t right, but you don’t have a diagnosis?
Are you waiting for a diagnosis? Do you hope that once you get that diagnosis - that piece of paper - things will change and life will improve?

If some or all of this is familiar to you, then Power to Parent can help.

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whenever you need a friendly face or helping hand

Future support
and community

Part of the benefit of Power to Parent is the support and community that is created on that day. We are therefore careful to keep the group small.

Once you have completed Power to Parent you will be encouraged to join the Power to Parent Facebook Group. This is a community of like-minded people and a place where we can continue to learn from, share with and support each other. We know families who have met through Power to Parent who in years later continue to support each other.

What have others said about our course

Feedback
received

Over 100 families have completed our Power to Parent course.

100% of course participants would recommend the course to a parent in a similar situation to them.

86% of course participants said the course either improved their ability to parent a lot, or completely transformed their ability to parent.

Words uses to describe the course:

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Testimonials

“I came to the Power to Parent course with no expectations, having done various general and autism specific parenting courses in the past and feeling like I had tried and failed with pretty much everything and nothing would ever change. This course has blown me away - you have framed things in a completely different way, which is actually useful and the techniques are approachable, manageable and effective. I now have hope that things can change, it’s not too late, there is hope. You’ve knocked it out of the park!”

“My expectations were quite low. This is the 4th autism course, the previous one from CAMHS wasn’t suitable. We had the feeling we were being passed on. From the first session I could tell it was different. It over delivered on expectations.”

“Excellent course. Great content and great trainers. Also really good to connect with families in similar situations, or at least with things in common.”

“The course was very positive and empowering - it didn’t shy away from the challenges of parenting an autistic child in our society including as a neuro divergent parent but the emphasis was on the child’s integrity and dignity - so much of the time people just focus on all the things that are wrong with our beautiful children and that is so relentless and hard to bear.”

“Not only did the course help with parenting my child, it also offered much needed support and a safe space to discuss the concerns without being judged.”

“I’ve learned so much more about how my son’s brain works, than I have in the 6 years of raising him... And it is fascinating!”

“The course gave me much greater confidence in my parenting abilities. I realised how much I was already doing to meet my son’s needs. The course leaders helped me be kinder to myself and stop feeling like my son’s problems were my fault. They gave me the confidence to tell the school what worked for my son.”

“I loved P2P, it was amazing and life changing. I really enjoyed hearing from other families and having time to talk in the group. It wasn’t like the other courses I have been on, I felt there was a connection and I mattered.”

“The course has created a big change, and def in X (Dad) and in how he responds. Recognising the behaviour as a need rather than need for discipline.”

“The course was the first place I found where I felt truly listened to and supported as a mum. Both by the course leaders and by the other parents in the group. The strategies for improving communication and connection within our family led us to take a more holistic approach to adapting our environment so all of our needs are better met. There is now greater understanding and acceptance between all of us in our family. It has given us the confidence to make some big life changes.”

“The course gave “lots of doable practical tools that can be utilised immediately, and that are specific to my child, and took into consideration my family’s circumstances. Felt like my child was advocated for, and I was part of the team on his side (not blamed and shamed!).”

Further
information

An autism diagnosis is not needed to attend the workshop
This event is not suitable for children and young people.
Parents/carers can attend by themselves, in a couple or with extended family members.

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“Autism is a manifestation of human biodiversity that serves an evolutionary purpose and that has most likely been present in the species since our hunter-gatherer origins.”

— Dr Nick Walker - Neurocosmopolitanism