Setting up for the Journey

We use the mataphor of the journey deliberately. Our journey's end is to get the child through to adult life (when they take over responsibility for themselves to the best of their ability) in the best possible shape. This has two components:

  1. The best mental health (happy, good self esteem, looking forward to the future)
  2. The best skills and knowledge (for work, play, social and other aspects of life)

Like any long and complex journey, the more preparation that is done the better. This setting up process involves:

Understanding

This is discussed in the earlier documents. You need to have the best possible understanding of your child, and the issues you are going to manage from now into the future.

The Team

Who is going to work with you - other members of the family, teachers and other staff at the school, professionals, friends? Setting up involves making sure you know who is in the team, make sure they understand the issues in the same way that you do, and will be working with you towards the same goals.

Setting Goals

All too often, unfortunately, the journey of children with neurodevelopmental problems is dominated by reactive decisions. Something happens, and people respond. This type of journey is chaotic.

Setting goals means that we make a picture of the future, and work towards this picture. In this way the journey continues to track towards a desired future, rather than zig-zagging in response to problems that arise.

Setting goals is an important concept, that we discuss further in the next section.

Initial Strategies

One you know the issues, and the goals you are working towards, how are you going to do this?

The Bigger Picture

In any journey, if you start too fast and too hard, you fatigue. The same applies to managing children. It is important to think of the 'bigger picture' from the very start - for example:

  • How are you going to take care of yourself, and your own relationships (e.g. with your partner)
  • How are you going to balance other responsibilities (e.g. managing other children in the family)

Documentation

A written plan is much better than one that you carry in your head. How are you going to organise the paperwork necessary to support the journey?

Documentation - Watch this space

In the near future we plan to have a web-based environment (www.KidsPB.com) to assist this process of documentation, journey mapping and journey management. KidsPB is for Kids Personal Best.