Support group for parents of kids with developmental disorders

Katya Chizhova, MSW, LCSW - a licensed psychotherapist - takes special interest in helping families raise children diagnosed with Autistic Spectrum disorders. As a mother of such child, Mrs. Chizhova can relate to emotional, educational and social challenges of these children and their parents. If you have kids with Autistic or other developmental disorders, she invites you to her support group:

“More and more, in doctors’ offices, on TV, from neighbors and friends, we hear about children with developmental disorders. More and more articles and web sites are dedicated to this issue that seems to grow more widespread every year.

Autism, Asperger syndrome, childhood bipolar disorder, AD/HD, learning disabilities, dyslexia, Tourette, epilepsy. The list goes on. Many of us know personally these kids. For many, these kids are their children. Questions abound on just how to raise such children: was the diagnosis right, is it really IT or maybe, just maybe, the doctor made a mistake? How do we help them, what’s the right approach, how do we protect them from peer and system abuse, how do we explain to relatives and friends that our kids are not freaks and we are not failed parents? HOW DO WE LIVE WITH THEM?

In my parenting support group I help moms and dads deal with these problems and learn to fight for their kids’ place in this world that is not known for welcoming the different. As a mother of an Asperger child I strongly believe that the starting point is home. If we never loose sight of the humanity of our children, if we work hard every day to come closer to really knowing them, we become more immune to the funny looks of strangers, we get more proactive in advocating for our kids’ rights in school and healthcare systems, and ultimately we achieve peace with ourselves that, in its turn, enables us to give more of ourselves to them.

In his book “Freaks, Geeks & Asperger Syndrome,” a 13-year old Asperger boy Luke Jackson said “The best advice I would give to parents that have found out that their child has AS” – or any of the other problems for that matter– “is just to accept them as they are… Yours and your child’s life may now take a different course than you would have expected, but it is just as important and may even be more fascinating and enlightening… Your kid is still your kid regardless of his or her label.”

And this is my son:

“I wanna be just a normal guy,
But never was, and I’ll never be,
For I have somethin’ in my life,
That has a purpose.
In my life!!!”

I invite you to my group. Let us try helping our kids and ourselves.”

If you would like to participate in the group you can call the Center of Revitalizing Psychiatry at 201-488-5161 and schedule an appointment with Mrs. Chizhova and please mention that you want to become a group member.