Spread the word!

“Somebody PLEASE tell me that one day my boys will be independent and responsible??” 

That’s what my client said to me in a recent coaching call, and maybe you can relate.

We all have certain family values, whether that’s independence, kindness, advocacy, empowerment, education, or anything in between.

But often it can feel like nothing we’re doing is actually helping to teach our kids those values that are so important to us…

So I am going to walk you through the EXACT strategy I shared with my client that helped her to actually SEE that her kids are developing her family values, and it takes her nearly no time at all!

One Simple Hack to SEE Your Neurodivergent Child’s Progress & Development

Image of a family playing outside at a table. Text underneath that reads: "one simple hack to actually see progress with family values". Under the text, there's an image of a person sitting cross-legged and writing in a journal with a pencil.

Oh, and to save you even more time, I created a template that will help you implement this strategy starting today!

(To get the template for free, click here to DM me on Facebook or click here to DM me on Instagram and just say ‘values’!)

Three pages from the Family Values Journal Template on a blue background. White text reads: DM Me for Free Access to the Template!

But if we haven’t met already, Hey friend, Kaylene here.

I’m an Autistic advocate and parent coach and I empower parents of neurodivergent kids to develop the unique flavor of parenting strategies that actually work for your neurodivergent child, your values, and your entire neurofamily!

Now let’s dive into the strategy that I use with my coaching clients that helps them gather evidence that their parenting actually IS having an impact, and their kids ARE really starting to develop their family values.

The Family Values Journal

So the strategy is called the Family Values Journal, and all you need is a blank journal, but I have a template to make it even easier.

(To get the template for free, click here to DM me on Facebook or click here to DM me on Instagram and just say ‘values’!)

Now at the top of one page, you want to write down one value that you want to see in your children, like integrity, empathy, or perseverance. 

And you can repeat this process for 3-5 values.

Once you’ve done that, you’re simply going to write down ANY evidence you see of that value in a list on that specific value’s page.

So on the ‘kindness’ page, you’ll write down EVERY single time you see your child display kindness.

And any time you see them do ANYTHING, big or small, independently, you’ll write it on the independence page.

Young family sits on the floor playing together.

Using the Family Values Journal to Gather Evidence of Values

Here’s where the beauty comes in…

After doing this for even a few days, you will have a giant collection of categorized evidence that your children do share your family values.

And whenever you find yourself feeling like you’re raising spoiled rotten kids who don’t care about anything but their tech

(hey, it happens to the best of us)

You’ll be able to bring out your journal and read a giant list of evidence that you actually have a really devoted kid.

Or a kid who really values diversity, or advocacy, or generosity.

Using the Family Values Journal to Track Progress for Neurodivergent Kids

You can also use this journal to track progress toward any type of goal for your neurodivergent kids.

Instead of writing a value at the top, simply fill it with the goal you’re focused on.

For example, you could write playing with siblings (without fighting) or turning electronics off at bedtime, or turning in homework on time.

And every single time your child does that activity, you can write it down on the correct page.

Finally, when your child has a day (or week) where they are constantly fighting, or they aren’t going to bed until 4 AM, or they didn’t do their homework…

You can simply look at all of the evidence you’ve gathered and remind yourself that your child is actually making progress.

And because I want this to be as easy as possible for you to implement, I put together a Family Values Journal template for you!

It’s the exact journal that my clients use with their families, and until now it’s only been available to my clients.

But to get the template for free, click here to DM me on Facebook or click here to DM me on Instagram and just say ‘values’!

Three pages from the Family Values Journal Template on a blue background. White text reads: DM Me for Free Access to the Template!

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About Kaylene

Kaylene George is an autistic self-advocate, author, and mother of five, including one autistic child. She realized her own autism as an adult shortly after her son received his initial diagnosis. Suddenly the parts of her that seemed so “weird” to society had an answer. Since then, Kaylene has passionately shared about her experiences with autism from both sides of the great divide between parents and autistic self-advocates on AutisticMama.com.