FREE ONLINE PROGRAM
5 Days of Rejuvenation for Parents of Children with Special Needs
Hosted by Melinda Jennis
Founder of Pathways for Exceptional Children and a parent of a young adult with disabilities
January 7-11, 2020
As parents of children with special needs
Caregiving
Our responsibilities to our children don't stop. In comparison, we spend 2 hours more per day caregiving than most other parents. Our workdays are interrupted 1 in 4 days, compared to 1 in 10 days. And our caregiving doesn't stop when our children grow up. We are caregivers for life.
Stress
We are three times as likely as most parents to have experienced a stressful event on any given day. One study found that moms of adolescents and adults with autism experienced chronic stress comparable to combat soldiers with PTSD.
Exhaustion
We are twice as likely to be tired on a given day than most parents. Our primary desire is to care for our children. We want the best for our children to do everything we can for them. And for many of us that means lost sleep, lost exercise, and little self-care.
"For our children to dream, they must see us dream. We cannot lead our children where we have not been. Pursuing our dreams is not selfish. It is essential to mental health, happiness, and good parenting."
- Melinda Jennis
Our well-being is crucial to our children's success.
For many of us, our lives have become so completely centered on our children that we have lost sight of ourselves and our needs. Yet, the single most important person to our child's success and well-being is us. If we are not well, our children won't do as well. We deserve more.
In the 5 Days of Rejuvenation, we will explore how we can reconnect with ourselves and our needs, so we can in fact be the best parents we want to be.
SAVE MY SPOT!
We Deserve More
Our Children Deserve Healthy, Happy Parents
Parents of children with special needs are survivors. We will do everything we can for our children. We advocate for them daily. We put their needs first.
But for so many of us, that comes in the form of self-sacrifice.
- We sacrifice our physical health.
- We sacrifice our emotional health.
- We sacrifice our careers goals and financial security.
- We find ourselves alone on this journey, feeling completely overwhelmed.
This self-sacrifice can lead quickly to depletion. We are exhausted, and many of us feel like we have nothing left to give.
It may feel counter-intuitive, but we cannot take the best care of our children if we don't take care of ourselves first.
We can do more than just survive. Life is more than just coping.
In the 5 Days of Rejuvenation, you will learn...
- How to check in with your own needs, so you can find renewed energy.
- Steps you can take to reduce your stress, so you can help your child for the long-haul.
- What you can do to combat the feelings of isolation and overwhelm.
Join me in the 5 Days of Rejuvenation. We can and do deserve to care for ourselves. And in fact, that is what's best for our children.
We can't do for our children what we can't do for ourselves.
5 Days of Rejuvenation for Parents of Children with Special Needs
Hosted by Melinda Jennis, Founder of Pathways for Exceptional Children and a parent of a young adult with disabilities
January 7-11, 2020
Melinda Jennis, Founder
Pathways for Exceptional Children
Melinda founded Pathways and has led the organization as President and Board Member since its inception. She has served on the New Jersey educational and employment committees and has been a life long advocate of children of all abilities. She is both an author and powerful public speaker. She has a B.A. in communication disorders and speech science and is a licensed physical therapist. She is an avid photographer and is passionate about working with children in impoverished countries. Her favorite role is being mom to her children, Jacob and Stephanie and working in the trenches with the children of all abilities.
Join Us for 5 Days of Rejuvenation!
FREE ONLINE PROGRAM | January 7-11, 2020
