Connect for Kids+

18/02/2020

Great advice for helping out your grumpy teen!!!

This blog is set to arm you with four ‘what-to-do’ strategies if you are living with a grumpy teenager! So, let’s get straight to it!  Grumpy Teens Tip No. 1: Try using “hit and run praise” a few times a day. Give your teen a compliment and then keep walking. Don’t stay around and w...

17/02/2019

After 20+ years of group work, I’m now having a break from working with groups and are offering individual therapy, focussing on developing social, communication and interpersonal skills. Although group work is fabulous for social skills development, there are some great advantages of 1:1 work and it’s been wonderful to return to offering this sort of support to clients and their families. Alongside working with primary school children, I have also extended my practice to work with adolescents and adults.

My work is still very much about skill-building, demystifying some of the ‘hidden rules’ of social interaction and assisting clients to put those rules and skills into practice in their everyday lives. Skills such as conversational skills, joining in, conflict resolution and general social interactional skills can be explored. In regards to my work with adults, I have found that sessions have been particularly helpful for those overcoming social anxiety issues and interpersonal difficulties, both in the work place and in personal social lives.

Head over to Connect at York for more details. Cheers! Amanda

Connect at York is a private practice specialising in assisting children, adolescents and adults in

01/12/2018

Great question to ask your kids who are navigating, what can be, a minefield of friendship decisions.

Choosing good friends is one of the skills we learn growing up. This question will help your kids really think about who they want to spend their time with.

15/11/2018

❤️

When kids are less focused on evaluating and comparing themselves to peers, they are freer to empathize with others, embrace learning, and connect with the values that are bigger than themselves. Parents, learn how to help your children build REAL self-esteem in my new book, Kid Confidence: Help Your Child Make Friends, Build Resilience, and Develop Real Self-Esteem, available for pre-order here:
https://www.amazon.com/Kid-Confidence-Friends-Resilience-Self-Esteem/dp/1684030498/ref=tmm_pap_swatch_0?_encoding=UTF8&qid=1542302150&sr=8-2

Thank you for taking the time to check it out!

-Eileen

06/10/2018

There’s a whole lot more to play than fabulous fun! It grows your brain in a way that formalised learning doesn’t.

Here are five to focus on building in your kiddo.

21/08/2018

Ever come across a nice kid who is sometimes a bit mean? Or maybe, you’ve even noticed your own child doing some not so friendly stuff to other kids. Here's an interesting article that explains why they do it and how you can guide them to be kinder in their interactions. Always love Eileen's work!

Even nice kids can sometimes be nasty due to empathy blind spots.

01/08/2018

These social skills challenges can lead to children's friendship problems.

18/07/2018

Using imagination to conquer imagination! What a great strategy!

How children can use their imaginations to cope with worries.

29/06/2018

This pretty much sums up friendship! Reach out + step back + blend in + speak up + let go! It's quite a dance! No wonder it take a whole lot of practice!

Almost every child struggles socially at some time, in some way.

http://eileenkennedymoore.com/books-videos/growing-friendships/

03/05/2018

So often we found ourselves becoming coaches in netball, football, maths, cooking, music, etc. with our kids. So important to add 'friendship coach' to that list. Friendship stuff is not easy to sort out and some days in the playground can be brutal. Kids need help in nursing some of those friendship bruises and also in knowing how to avoid them next time round. Love Eileen's tips for how to be a 'friendship coach' for our kids.

Parents can help children learn social skills.

25/04/2018

Worth a read...

When it comes in the form of likability and making others feel included — rather than seeking power and status — it can be a positive thing.

24/04/2018

Something for the girls...

Our Girls with a Purpose program focuses on a really important issue: Self esteem in girls. This empowering program teaches them to identify their strengths, practice gratitude, have a positive body image, and build confidence!

06/04/2018

Anyone interested?

Can you help us train new clinicians?
The UWA School of Psychological Science needs the help of children, teenagers and/or adults (with or without ASD) to volunteer for a practice assessment, to allow clinicians on the ADOS-2 course (Autism Diagnostic Observation Schedule) to practice their new skills under supervision. In thanks for your help, we can provide a short assessment report (if your child has an ASD) and a $20 Coles-Myer gift card.

The course will take place at UWA, Crawley, and is designed to teach clinicians and researchers in ADOS-2. This is currently the best-practice observational tool for diagnosing ASD and learning to use it is challenging!

Who do we need and when?
• Tuesday 1st May 2018 – we need volunteers (5 years and under – any language level)
• Thursday 3rd May 2018 – we need older children, teenagers or adults (who can speak fluently)
• Friday 4th May – we need volunteers who fit either of the above categories.

Participation will take one hour at the most. We need people to come at the following times: 9:30 to 10:30am or 2pm to 3pm. Volunteers only need to come for one session and will be given a $20 gift voucher for their time.

Thank you for your support.

If you would like to volunteer or have any further questions, please contact Emma – emma.miller@uwa.edu.au

(Image courtesy of Google)

05/04/2018

I often see anger as a ‘signaling’ emotion. Of course, when it’s out of control it can cause major problems, but if you can learn to manage it and even better, listen to it, there’s every chance it’s trying to tell you something.

Sometimes when we're angry, there are other emotions hidden below the surface. Learning to recognize when anger isn't really what we're feeling is important for helping us identify and cope with our emotions.

Image inspired by Creative Social Worker.

04/04/2018

Great ideas to help get through the struggles.

Not sure how to support your kids' mental health? This awesome infographic from BelievePerform reminds us that there are so many practical things we can be doing everyday.