Panic Monkey and Me

How Panic Monkey Tries To Call
The Parenting Shots

 

Are you one of the MANY parents feeling overwhelmed by the constant demands of raising a family? If that was a yes, here’s the permission to sigh a well-needed breath of relief - it isn’t just you.

Really - it isn’t. So many people find our modern way of life too much to navigate, and that’s before you bring neurodivergent challenges into the equation.

If you often find yourself reacting in ways you later regret - despite your best intentions - you're not alone.

 

Living in a Limbic-Dominated World

For many of us, especially those who are neurodivergent, our limbic system often takes the driver's seat in our daily lives without us realising. This can look like:

• Shouting at your child when you promised yourself you wouldn't 
• Feeling paralysed by the judgement of other parents outside your home
  
• Obsessing over a minor incident, convinced it will ruin your child's future

These reactions aren't a reflection of your parenting skills or your love for your child. 

These reactions are your brain's way of trying to protect you and your family - but instead of helping like your brain thinks it is, they can leave you feeling exhausted,
guilty, and disconnected from the parent you want to be.

 

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It's because we understand this, and how debilitating it can be when the Limbic System is taking over, Nanny Aut and I have created a course together to help. 

 

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Introducing: Panic Monkey and Me - Parenting with Our Panic Monkey

This course is designed to help neurodivergent parents understand our brain's reactions, develop sustainable strategies to manage overwhelming situations, and create a more harmonious family life. 

Neurodivergent families ARE different - we have different reactions, different needs and different abilities. This means we need a different approach - but because we’re all so unique and every family is different, many parenting courses don’t help at all.

In fact, the ‘typical’ parenting courses can make you feel worse, and a common issue is that we don’t always understand what’s actually going on inside our body when we become overwhelmed or dysregulated.

Nanny Aut is an autistic educator, blogger, and advocate for autistic people around the world. She uses her lived experience as a teacher and lecturer to help parents overcome their fears about parenting autistic children.

Nicola Reekie - aka me - is the founder of The PDA Space and has a passion to help parents and families learn more about PDA and support them on their parenting journey to create a calmer home.

We’ve both been asked so many questions over the years about regulation, neurodivergence and the nervous system, that we’ve decided to create this course together where we cover some of the most important bases to help you.

The reason we’re helping parents to understand this is because sharing this knowledge within your family or community is how we start to meet people where they are at.

A passion we both share.

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Starting 18th October, here's what we'll cover across 5 weeks together…

 

Week 1: Meet Your Inner Limbic Crew

Discussing how family flare-ups can happen when emotions are high. For example, parents might not be mad at their children but it can seem that way when they’re trying to manage their own overwhelm and their inner limbic crew. In this session, we will: 

• Understand the roles of Panic Monkey, Dino Brain, Glitter Chimp, and Mama/Papa Bear
•  Learn to recognise your personal overwhelm or meltdown signs
• Discover quick techniques to regain control in stressful moments
• Learn why implementing quick-fix solutions won’t align with your long-term parenting values

 

Week 2: Unpacking Guilt, Shame, and Childhood Influences

Self-care looks very different in a neurodivergent home. Co-regulation can be much harder which means more capacity is required to help a child regulate themselves. How do we keep burnout at bay? How do we distance ourselves from external opinions? In this session, we will:

• Explore how shame could be impacting your parenting decisions
• Identify childhood scripts that may be affecting your parenting style
• Learn the importance of self-care and how to manage associated guilt
• Discover regulation techniques for the whole family 

 

Week 3: Decoding Your Child's Needs

Imagine you’re going to a brand new land, everybody else has a map and you don’t. When will you eat? Where are the drinks? I walked past this place before and now I don’t recognise it. Perceived threats such as changes can be hidden but they can feel huge to an autistic child. In this session, we will:

• Understand how to shift your perspective when faced with challenging behaviours
• Uncover hidden stressors affecting your child
• Learn to provide information effectively to your children
• Implement strategies to slow down and connect

 

Week 4: Navigating the Social Aspects of Parenting

Timed perfectly due to the run-up to Christmas which is a huge challenge for autistic children. Why should they have to behave differently around guests? Why is everything so busy and overwhelming? In this session, we will:

• Address societal expectations and why they might not make sense to all
• Learn to set boundaries with family members that are fair for everyone
• Understand emotional mirroring and its impact on your family
• Develop strategies for managing the potential overwhelm of social events

 

Week 5: Your Questions Answered

All of the sessions are designed to help you understand the challenges from your own family’s perspective. But each family has its own dynamic which can bring unique challenges we may not have covered in the previous sessions. In this session, we will:

• Have an open Q&A session to address or discuss your specific concerns or questions
• Gain reassurance, understanding and personalised guidance on anything we can help with 
  

 
BONUS MODULE: Free NEST Approach Recorded Training

The NEST approach (Nurture Empathise Share Teamwork) focuses on creating a supportive and inclusive environment for neurodivergent individuals, especially those on the autism spectrum. Here is how it can help:

• It emphasises the importance of a safe space and how this helps with co-regulation
• It teaches two-way communication emphasising listening over speaking or correcting
• It encourages collaborative strategies involving all family members. 
• It encourages a sense of belonging and recognition of overwhelm in advance

 

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COURSE DETAILS

START DATE: 18th October 2024

TIME: 1pm to 2.30pm

WHERE: Online via zoom 

PRICE: £74 (discounted to £60 for The PDA Space Portal Members) 

 

WHAT THE PANIC MONKEY & ME COURSE INCLUDES: 

• FOUR TRAINING COURSE MODULES
  Timed to fit into the schedule of busy parents

• OPEN Q&A SESSION
  For direct and tailored support from Nanny Aut & Nicola Reekie

• BONUS NEST WORKSHOP
  Designed to help manage Christmas and New Year challenges

• PEER SUPPORT
  Via our exclusive online community, where you can connect with other parents who are on the same journey

• LIFETIME ACCESS
  So you can revisit the materials anytime.

 

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Why This Course is Different

This isn’t another cookie-cutter course. As neurodivergent individuals ourselves, Nanny Aut and I often face unique challenges in parenting or supporting others around us.

This course acknowledges those difficulties and provides strategies tailored to our needs, based on our years of training and educating, combined with our own lived experiences.

 

How different would your family’s life (both now and in the future) look if you could all:

 

✔️ Understand and accept your own needs

✔️ Offer yourself and your family grace and compassion

✔️ Learn to work with your brain, not against it

✔️ Connect with other parents facing similar challenges

✔️ Learn strategies you can implement for life to help

 

AND - most importantly - what if this course could remind you that struggling doesn't make you a bad parent - it makes you human.

It takes a different set of tools and support to create the family life you've always dreamed of.

Your parenting journey CAN become less tricky - we’re never going to say it’s easy, but it can be made harder if Panic Monkey has a say!

Join Nanny Aut, Nicola Reekie and a supportive community of parents like you to shift our lens and perspective on what we’re all experiencing.

 

You are allowed to take time out for a different type of self-care to the masses

 

You can wave your white flag when faced with challenges that are too big for you

 

Your family should celebrate its unique strengths and notice when you’re winning

 

Creating more open communication within your family is a skill - it requires that we evolve and change regularly too which doesn’t come easily to people with autism.

None of this happens overnight, which is why this 5-week course has lifetime access. It enables you to keep coming back to it, or maybe watching the modules as a family as your children get older.

 

If you’d love to learn more about the limbic system, the challenges it can bring, and how to overcome them together as a family, come and join us.

Sounds Good, take me to Panic Monkey & Me