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Support for Students & Families: Heading back to school - Respite & Skill COACHING

The transition back to school can bring a mix of excitement and stress for students and their families. New schedules, early mornings, changing routines, increased responsibilities, and the demands of a new school year can take time to adjust to. For students with developmental, intellectual, or physical disabilities, and their families, these changes may require additional support. Skill coaching, behavioural coaching, and respite can help make the transition into the school year more manageable for families while supporting students in building confidence and independence.

WHY Life Skill Coaching?

Community & Life Skill Coaching focuses on practical skills that are meaningful to each student. Depending on their needs and goals, this could include organization, communication, daily routines, community participation, problem-solving, or other skills that support greater independence. As routines change with the start of a new school year, skill coaching can support students as they navigate new expectations and everyday responsibilities.

What Age Is This For? 

This type of coaching works for all ages. However, we find that most high school and university/college students benefit most.

Is Grocery shopping and planning difficult? 

Most young adults, whether university/college students or living on their own, struggle with grocery planning. Often not sure what to get or where to go, let alone setting up a plan to eat healthy and affordably. So what happens? A lot of people end up spending more money on pizzas, fast food, coffees out, and things that our coach can help you with. In most of our minds, we often think this is something we should simply know and are too embarrassed to ask family or a friend about. So most people struggle with this, sometimes for their entire lives. So, working with a coach to start building this skill can be helpful.

Do you struggle with social events? 

Another example might be social anxiety and never really getting out to meet new friends. Would a coach potentially help, since they can come to you, meet you for coffee, and start by getting you out of the house while building social interaction in a calmer, simpler environment and slowly bringing you to where you actually want to be? 

These are just a few examples of how a community and life skill coach can help anyone in these stages, regardless of whether they are dealing with different forms of anxiety, depression, or even neurodivergence (ADHD, AuDHD, ASD, OCD, and so on). Our coach is working alongside you, not pushing you. 

WANT TO CHAT WITH KINDRED HOPE’S COACH, NATALIE, FOR A FREE 15-MINUTE CONSULTATION? – BOOK ONLINE

Behavioural & Executive Functioning coaching

Behavioural & Executive Functioning Coaching can help families better understand behaviours that may communicate frustration, stress, overwhelm, or an unmet need. By looking beyond the behaviour itself and considering what may be contributing to it, families can develop supportive strategies that make challenging situations easier to navigate. This support can also help families feel more prepared when navigating the changes and challenges that may come with a new school year.

What Age Is This For? 

Similar to our community & life skill coaching, this is for all ages. However, we find it tends to lean toward school-aged clients, or even younger. This is especially true because we purposely involve families more often, depending on the client’s goals and focus. The most important part is building the relationship and trust between our coach and client so that they can move towards their goals. This can involve play and exploring what works for them, such as what the client responds to best. 

Is Your Child Having Trouble Focusing? 

Our coach will work on different strategies and techniques to start building focus and attention spans. For example, we may start by finding out how long the client can sit and play, read a book, or do homework before becoming bored and distracted, then see what helps bring their attention back. This will involve a lot of trial and error. Yet, as they do, progress will continue as they start to see what works in certain environments or settings, or with different activities. As this happens, the coach will naturally help with the emotions that come up. So it covers more than just focus. 

Are There Challenges in Playing with Siblings? 
Our coach will start by observing what is happening, then work with their client (and their sibling) to find different ways to deal with their struggles. For example, if they tend to get aggressive when a sibling takes a toy, our coach will help them find ways to share and take turns. These can be more complicated, and our coach will be happy to explain more. 
What about Executive Functioning Skills? Especially if you are an adult or teen? 

The focus is similar to community & life skill coaching, but it goes a bit further into feeling overwhelmed by cleaning or organizing your room or home. 

Do you Struggle with Time Management?

If you struggle with time management and find it challenging to keep up with everything in your schedule, this could help a lot. Our coach will walk you through practical strategies and options to help you get that under control. For many students and adults, this might be very beneficial! If it is helpful, our coach can also give you someone to be accountable to, plus support. Our coach works with you and your needs, step by step.  

WANT TO CHAT WITH KINDRED HOPE’S COACH FOR A FREE 15-MINUTE CONSULTATION? – BOOK ONLINE

Specialized Respite Support

Specialized Respite Support provides person-centred care from a trusted support person, giving parents an opportunity to step away from caregiving responsibilities for a period of time. This time can be used to rest, attend appointments, run errands, complete household responsibilities, or spend time with others or on their own well-being. Having this additional support can help caregivers return to their responsibilities with more capacity.

Respite can also create more space for siblings. During busy or stressful periods, such as the back-to-school season, parents may have less time or energy available for their other children. By providing the student with trusted support, respite can give parents more opportunities to spend time with their other children and attend to the needs of the whole family.

What about older individuals and Caregivers?

Respite provides services for all caregivers, whether it is families with children with needs. Or for caregivers of an adult in need due to developmental, medical, senior, or palliative care. Our coach(es) are well experienced in all areas, with compassion and kindness. 

WANT TO CHAT WITH KINDRED HOPE’S COACH FOR A FREE 15-MINUTE CONSULTATION? – BOOK ONLINE

Together, these services can provide support not only when challenges arise, but also as families adjust to new routines and responsibilities. Back-to-school is a transition for the entire family, and having additional support can help make that transition feel less overwhelming.