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Parenting as an ND person

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CatMaman

Parenting as an ND person

I'm really struggling....
My teen is NT & I'm ND so it feels like we are from different planets.
She says I don't understand her, and she's right but I don't really know what to do about it.
Lately (in the past week or so)
I have been dreading any interactions with her at all.
She says she doesn't want to talk to me, that I'm annoying - so I leave her alone
(Except to ask her to do things when I have to speak to her)
- but then she says I never 'check in' with her.
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Stormy-RO

Re: Parenting as an ND person

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Hey @CatMaman welcome back Smiley Happy

Thank you for sharing what is going on between yourself and your teen. I can imagine that it must be very isolating to try to bridge the gap of neurodivergency in your family dynamic. It sounds like you really want to be there for her but it's hard to understand exactly what that looks like as you're getting contradicting messages from her. I also can see that it's making it's making you struggle and anxious about interacting with her in the past week or so. I was wondering if anything has happened for you or your teen in this time which may be causing some extra tension?

I wanted to share two articles from our website with you which may be helpful. The first is how to have a great conversation with your teen, which includes some simple statements that can help bridge the gap when you are able to have discussions about how your teen is feeling. This could be helpful in those moments where your teen does want you to check in, and might be followed up by some of the questions that encourage your teenager to talk in this article. It could help to understand what she values your thoughts on most so that you can be there to give support when it's most appropriate.

If you are looking for more support, ReachOut offers a 1-1 parent coaching service which might be helpful to work through some of these challenges- they have bookings and occasional cancellations so it's checking it out frequently if you're interested. In the meantime, Parentline can also give some helpful tips over the phone in your state.

Finally, I was wondering if you had any self-care strategies, social or professional supports you can lean on? Sometimes it can be helpful to find ways to ground yourself so you're better prepared to understand and improve your relationship with your teen. Are there any activities that help fill your cup?