Hello from Parent Psychologist

I am a parent and am training to become a research psychologist specialising in development and developmental disorders.  (I should add that I am a parent in training and hope to graduate when my daughter does…)  Beginning a written style that entwines itself with the fabric of my life is a heady challenge.  I am fortunate that I can sometimes see the world in a different way.  Therefore I like to bring a considered and different approach to old ideas and new discoveries.  I draw on my studies and the many aspects of my life that have thrown the curve balls.

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I hope to explore subjects that are equally different and challenging, chewing on the fat of life, drawing out all its nuances.  As a parent these days we are being constantly encouraged to label, categorise and assign futures to our children, so that in some way they don’t miss out from an etheric something that we haven’t even realised we even may need.  I read that we encounter in 1 week what visual and auditory stimulation was exposed to our ancestors in a year.  So manoeuvring around these hurdles are bound to cost us.  But when we see failure we institutionally tighten our grip on reality, more testing, more labelling… more ways of getting things wrong.

What do we do then with the children who don’t fit this ever tightening mould? How are we going to navigate these special beings to not only deal with these structures, but still allow themselves their own exploration?  Exactly what are they trying to tell us about themselves…? What should we be attending to?

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This blog will be for you if any of the following subject areas are of interest, some from my interests as a trainee research psychologist; some from events that have happened in my life where I feel I have gained some perspective and some from simply being a parent.

My Interests…

  • Child Development
  • Non-Verbal Communication
  • Autism Spectrum Disorders
  • Brain function
  • Education

Life Encounters…

  • Depression and Anxiety
  • Maternal Imposter Syndrome
  • Loneliness and isolation
  • Bipolar Affect Disorder
  • Suicide
  • Family Separation
  • Cancer
  • Teenage coping strategies
  • Hyper-acuity
  • Hereditary Spastic Paraparesis
  • Sensory Processing Disorder
  • and whatever blurry else is around the corner…

Guidance

  • Teaching tips – how to support home work and independent learning
  • How to talk to teaching staff if you are worried there is a problem with an aspect of your child’s learning
  • Where to look for support if you have a child with a developmental difference or if you suspect that your child may have a developmental difference

As everyone, I want to enjoy my time here and use this forum as a writing experience that both expands and liberates me; to bring centred understanding to the implications of my own research; to try and blur my way through the fog of parenting and to hopefully bring a voice to appreciating difference in all it’s guises – no pun intended (well, perhaps just a little one)…