Ep. 7: Building You Up To Be the Mom You Crave To Be with Brandee El-Attar

09/21/20 • 43 min

The Autism and Sensory Parenting Podcast

I am sure that I will say this about a lot of people I interview, but I am over the moon excited for you to listen to the interview today! My guest and I share so many thoughts and ideas about family and life in general, but she will immediately make you feel comfortable and as if you have known her for years. I am so so very thankful that I have had the opportunity to meet such a charismatic and caring woman. She is one of those people that is just genuinely her warm, wonderful and positive self and is full of passion for helping others.

So without further delay, meet Brandee. She is a family success coach as well as a behavioral consultant, parent-educator, volunteer extraordinaire, blogger and budding author. She loves making connections, reflecting upon life, and sharing it with others. Helping people navigate the complexities of parenting, managing a kiddo with special needs, or stepping into their own greatness, is where she SHINES. And she always seeks the lessons from each and every experience and is one who strongly believes in owning your OWN IMPACT. To this end, she aspires to help others find the joy, meaning and deep connectedness in their innermost circles with whom they share their most intimate life

experiences~their family.

Her life’s purpose is to LOVE her people fiercely, as her children are her LEGACY to this world. She wears that responsibility like a prideful ribbon. Her secondary purpose is to be a sharer of the wisdom she gleans along the way. Providing insight and inspiration to help others UP their personal and parenting GROWTH GAME. Her greatest hope is to be a guiding light for those that are seeking clarity, connection and community as they find their own personal formula for fulfillment. To help them release the daily chaos and find their FLOW.

Brandee is thrilled to be pouring into all of you today! Enjoy the interview!

Recommended books:

Raising your Spirited Child by Mary Sheedy Kurcinka

Parenting with Love and Logic by Foster Cline and Jim Fay

Gift of Imperfection by Brene Brown

Top 3 takeaways

You have to make priorities because if we are focused on everything, we are focused on nothing. That negative energy that is created will spill into all areas of your life. Instead, purposely set up your child’s day for success and it will be a win for both of you.
Focus on the strengths of your child and avoid comparing your child to all the other kids. Ask yourself why you want your child to be like everyone else. You will open up an opportunity to connect with you kids when you focus on your child’s strength, because we don’t need to “fix” our children.
Trust your gut and follow through on those feelings. This flows right into the idea to never stop advocating for your child (and then down the road teach your child how to advocate for your child). You know your child and you need to voice what you feel like your child needs by being an active member of the team, because you are the expert on your child!

You can find Brandee at:

https://brandeelandblossoms.com/ where they can access information about my Surviving to Thriving and Full Circle Living Coaching Programs and a soon to be released membership program

Her private Facebook Community – Purposeful Parenting for Moms with Extraordinary Children

experiences~their family.

Brandee is thrilled to be pouring into all of you today! Enjoy the interview!

Recommended books:

Raising your Spirited Child by Mary Sheedy Kurcinka

Parenting with Love and Logic by Foster Cline and Jim Fay

Gift of Imperfection by Brene Brown

Top 3 takeaways

You have to make priorities because if we are focused on everything, we are focused on nothing. That negative energy that is created will spill into all areas of your life. Instead, purposely set up your child’s day for success and it will be a win for both of you.
Focus on the strengths of your child and avoid comparing your child to all the other kids. Ask yourself why you want your child to be like everyone else. You will open up an opportunity to connect with you kids when you focus on your child’s strength, because we don’t need to “fix” our children.
Trust your gut and follow through on those feelings. This flows right into the idea to never stop advocating for your child (and then down the road teach your child how to advocate for your child). You know your child and you need to voice what you feel like your child needs by being an active member of the team, because you are the expert on your child!

You can find Brandee at:

https://brandeelandblossoms.com/ where they can access information about my Surviving to Thriving and Full Circle Living Coaching Programs and a soon to be released membership program

Her private Facebook Community – Purposeful Parenting for Moms with Extraordinary Children

Previous Episode

Ep. 6: How to Handle Autism Meltdowns: Lessons from a mum with Autistic TWIN boys

I found Alex on Instagram and when I read her profile I just knew that I had to interview her! She is full of amazing positive energy and is a single mom that has raised twin Autistic boys! She has learned so much on her journey and I wanted to make sure that you had the opportunity to hear what she has learned along the way. I honestly think that we can learn so much from others that have gone through similar journeys and will have an easier time raising our own children as a result!

Alex Chart helps positive and overwhelmed mums of special educational needs children find that “me time” they crave so badly through my Health Warrior online support groups.

Recommended books:

For you - Girl Stop Apologizing by Rachel Hollis

For autism - The Reason I Jump by Naoki Higishida

Top 3 takeaways

1.) Stay calm and be patient to help your child recover from a meltdown. This will also help you to reflect on why the meltdown happened and how to be proactive to prevent or minimize them.

2.) Allow your child to feel their emotions and teach them strategies to recognize the emotions that they are feeling.

3.) Make sure to take care of yourself so you can then take care of your children. This is also important so you can advocate for your child!

You can find Alex Chart at:

Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/alex_chart/

Health Warrior Community Group

https://www.facebook.com/groups/183748448905231/?ref=share

Next Episode

Ep. 8: Sensory Processing 101

We get information for our brain to make sense of the world through our senses

Touch
Hearing
Taste
Smell
Vision
Vestibular System
Proprioceptive System
Interoceptive System

The Out of Sync Child by Carol Kranowitz and Lucy Jane Miller

All of our brains are wired different, but generally there are certain things that we can do to affect our brains and our bodies based on what information we give it through our senses.

Some of my favorite things to do with my kids

Straw in the am to drink applesauce or smoothies (crazy straws are even harder) to get more muscle work (proprioception and deep breaths) for more focus
Taking regular movement breaks like go noodle during online school or going to the park and swinging, using the monkey bars or going down the slides
Blanket roll ups
Listening to meditations at night or taking a warm bath with relaxing Epson salts

Sensory Integration is the ability of our brain to organize all of the information that we get through our senses. Usually, as we develop, we do this automatically; however, if for whatever reason our brains have difficult time doing this the Sensory Integration framework is a specific framework or treatment approach that was developed by Dr. Jean Ayers, a neurologist and Occupational Therapist. The treatment is based on what we know about how the brain works and how sensory motor development happens.

Sensory Integration and the Child by Dr. Jean Ayers