Bronwyn Parsons

I have over 20 years experience working with children. During this time I have appreciated the challenges and rewards of working with hundreds of children and their families in various settings. In developing partnerships with parents I always seemed to be frustrated by the limitations of my role as a classroom teacher in helping those needing additional support and their families. Through RDI I am now able to practice a family centred approach, guiding and empowering parents to be able to genuinely help their child.

Secondly – as a parent of a child diagnosed with ASD in 2003, I always believed my son was capable of far more than the compensations and work-arounds offered by intervention at that time. For me the greatest grief came from the absence of connection between us. I ached to hear “look mummy!”. Over time we explored many intervention models and some progress was made but none seemed to address this absence of relatedness to others.

I first became aware of RDI during 2004. I immediately knew this was the answer that had seemed so elusive, thus beginning a journey of discovery of how we could really help my child achieve the potential within. We attended an RDI 4 day parent training workshop in 2006 and were excited about what we called “the missing gap” of intervention so far. We started using a few strategies with remarkable results and began working with a certified RDI consultant. We have celebrated many milestones together. As a result my son has far greater self-awareness. He has some friendships, and is far more flexible in his ability to engage in everyday life. We now function as a family with confidence, enjoying many activities we had thought we had to give up on. The dreams I had for my family when my children were born are being restored. I now have hope for my son’s future and ours!

My desire grew to use these experiences and understanding to help and empower other families facing the stress of ASD. As a result I enrolled in and completed the RDI consultant certification process, finishing in October 2010. The process of study and supervised practice enhanced the knowledge of ASD I had experienced as a teacher and parent. This has been a huge commitment in resources and energy, but one I believe worth making in order to make a difference for many more individuals and families. Working as a consultant brings an opportunity for me to help these children within a family centred context.

I work closely with parents through regular home visits, ongoing online communication, school visits, and consultation with other professionals. Parents are coached in helping their child develop dynamic thinking and mindfulness in real life situations.  My professional and personal experiences give me a unique empathy and understanding of parents’ challenges and dreams for their child.