2 minute tips - maintaining quality friendships

Friendships can be strained when someone's child receives a diagnosis. It can be a difficult time for everyone to navigate. Take a listen for some practical advice to ensure that you can be the type of friend that you want to be. 

Transcript

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Hey there, it's Emily here from mumble road. You got two minutes? I bet you do. All I need is two minutes of your time each fortnight, why? I'm going to be dedicating this time to offering you tips, recommendations and advice to ensure that you can support your child in the very best way. I can't wait for this. Let's do it. Maintaining good quality friendships with people within your friendship group who have a child with a disability or an additional need can be really complex and complicated. There are lots of emotions tied up in this process, and often friendships can suffer. Here are just a couple of ideas that you could think about when you're being a good friend. Firstly, listen to your friend and actively listen to them. This way you'll be able to understand when they're weak or when their day is most challenging. offer support during those days and that will look different for everybody. Next, your friend's Good day may look very different to your good day. That's fine. Be supportive when they're expressing what their good day looks like and when they've had one. Next, meet them at their level. If they expressing excitement over their child reaching a milestone, join them relish in this time. It's not a time to compare your child or anybody else's child to their situation. That's not the time. Lastly, when you're out and about understand your friend's child's needs, if they need to follow them because they're worried about road safety offered to look after their other siblings allowing them to follow the child and allowing them to build confidence in being out and about. Thanks for listening. Catch you later. Thank you for two minutes of your time. Mumble Road is dedicated to creating a place of support and respect for all parents, particularly parents of children with additional needs. Keep an eye on my socials for the latest news. Remember, every road starts with small steps. I'm Emily from mumble road. Bye for now.