Evidence-based pathways to the good things in life
September 28, 2021
Table of Contents
If you’ve ever thought that treatments and therapies are the only thing you have time for, then you are not alone. Sometimes as parents we can get stuck in the trenches of our child’s healing and we think that this is the only way to get to the “good things in life.” After speaking with today’s podcast guest, I had a great reminder about not just looking to the future but also ensuring our kids have the good things in life right now. My guest, Genia Stephen, founder and podcast host at The Good Things in Life, discussed how we can change our perspective on thinking about what are the good things in life for our children.
Genia believes that therapies and treatments, while helpful and necessary, tend to focus on what we can change or fix about our child and she teaches on changing that perspective to focus on strategies that help our children build wonderful lives right now. She takes us through a few of those strategies and how to incorporate them into your life. I hope you enjoy this episode with Genia Stephen as much as I did!
[su_box title=”Things You Will Learn” box_color=”#84C141″ class=”nutshell_box”]
- Why therapies and treatments shouldn’t be our only focus when helping our children thrive
- Universal strategies to help our kids build good lives
- The medical model of disability and alternatives to that model
- How to flip your perspective and that of others in your child’s life so that they can have the good things in life that they deserve
- And much more…[/su_box]
Show Notes
- How therapies and treatments are limited and the strategies for our kids to build great lives. (5:26)
- What the medical model of disability is and how Genia sees it in her practice. (13:43)
- Some heartwarming examples of families that have made this perspective change and how it’s impacted their lives. (17:08)
- Different types of “therapies” that are more inclusive to the child rather than just a client. (20:17)
- What is the ultimate goal of parents and children going after the good things in life? (21:50)
- How to have conversations with friends, family and teachers to help you adopt this perspective for your child. (23:00)
- Genia’s free special offer that will help you incorporate the vision we have for our child’s life. (26:21)
Resources and Links
Good Things in Life Facebook Page
Get Genia’s helpful posts: www.goodthingsinlife.org/posts
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More about Genia Stephen
Genia Stephen helps kids with intellectual disabilities build inclusive lives at home, at school and in the community. She is the founder and host of the Good Things In Life For Kids With Disabilities Podcast and manages a community of parents of children with disabilities.
Having a younger sister and son with disabilities and medical complexities led her to a lifetime of training in the disability field under premier thought leaders and mentors. With more than 20,000 downloads, her podcast now gives other parents access to her world-class disability parenting education, complete with courses and membership. She is a practicing midwife and medical advocate currently completing her MSc. in Evidence-Based Health Care at the University of Oxford.
Featured in Travel Without Limits Magazine and Community Living Ontario, as well as multiple top-rated podcasts, Genia speaks about creating a positive vision for kids with disabilities, getting the good things in life through valued social roles and social capital, and medical safeguarding.
00:01 Tara Hunkin:
This is My Child Will Thrive and I'm your host, Tara Hunkin, Nutritional Therapy Practitioner, Certified GAPs Practitioner, Restorative Wellness Practitioner, and mother. I'm thrilled to share with you the latest information, tips, resources, and tools to help you on the path to recovery for your child with ADHD, autism, sensory processing disorder, or learning disabilities.
My own experiences with my daughter combined with as much training as I can get my hands on research I can dig into and conferences I can attend have helped me to develop systems and tools for parents like you who feel overwhelmed, trying to help their children. So sit back as I share another great topic to help you on your journey. A quick disclaimer, before we get started.
My Child Will Thrive is not a substitute for working with a qualified healthcare practitioner. The information provided on this podcast is not intended to diagnose or treat your child. Please consult your healthcare practitioner before implementing any information or treatments that you have learned about on this podcast. There are many gifted, passionate, and knowledgeable practitioners with hundreds if not thousands of hours of study and clinical experience available to help guide you.
Part of our goal is to give you the knowledge and tools you need to effectively advocate for your child so that you don't blindly implement each new treatment that comes along. No one knows your child better than you. No one knows your child's history like you do or can better judge what is normal or abnormal for your child. The greatest success in recovery comes from the parent being informed and asking the right questions and making the best decisions for their child in coordination with a team of qualified practitioners in different areas of specialty.
Today's podcast is sponsored by the Autism, ADHD and Sensory Processing Disorder Summit. In order to learn more about the summit and to sign up for free, please go to mychildwillthrive.com/summit.
2:17 Tara Hunkin:
Hi, I'm Tara Hunkin and welcome back to the My Child Will Thrive podcast. I'm really excited to have with me today, Genia Stephens. She is the founder of the goodthingsinlife.org and the podcast named the same, The Good Things in Life. And she's going to talk to us today about how we can change our perspective on thinking about what are the good things in life for our children.
And in line with how we're helping them thrive, but not just thinking anymore about just treatments and therapies that we can do to do that, but how we are doing that for them each and every day, where they're at right now and our vision for them in the future. Before we dive into that interview, I just want to remind you, if you do enjoy this podcast, I would really appreciate it if you would subscribe and take a couple moments to review on whatever podcast platform that you listened to on. The more people that subscribe and review, the more the podcast will be seen by other parents like ourselves that are looking for ways to help their children thrive and get them the good things in life like Genia is going to teach us how to do today. Without further ado, let's dive into that interview.
3:32 Tara Hunkin:
Hi, everyone. I'm really excited to have Genia Stephen with me today. She is the founder of Good Things in Life for Kids with Disabilities. Genia helps kids with intellectual disabilities build inclusive lives at home, at school and in the community. She has The Good Things in Life for Kids with Disabilities Podcast and manages a