Wide Open Spaces

Louise Fearn

Are you the parent of a neurodiverse or deeply-feeling child? Have you found yourself battling for an EHCP or navigating the traditional education system, a specialist provision or the everyone-at-home experience without much support? Or perhaps you're in overwhelm or burn out, lost under the weight and responsibility that comes from parenting a complex child? If you find yourself saying yes to any of the above, then you're in good company! This journal is a hand held out in the darkness, offering you a path back to yourself. It shows you how, by understanding your own needs and practising comforting, energising, hits-the-spot self-care, you can power through the ups and downs of parenting a neurodiverse family. With short journalling prompts and imaginative activities designed specifically for this parenting experience, it provides a warm sense of community, ensuring you feel completely held as you discover how to regulate and centre yourself and how to enliven life beyond your role as a parent or carer. Part fill-in journal and part anecdotal memoir, Wide Open Spaces unpacks how you can come to understand your child's dysregulated behaviours and communicate with them in a way that makes your life easier. From supporting your child's emotional literacy and coping with big emotions, to rapport building, PDA, co-dependency and more, gentle, easy-to-follow advice runs throughout. Wide Open Spaces is a kind, insightful and uplifting read that guides you, cheerily, in the direction of peace, and a more balanced and fulfilled family life.