Autism: Parents Need Help Managing Emotions, Too

As found in the York University study, parents who participated in CBT with a child also found benefits in retraining their own thinking. One noted benefit was an increase in the parent’s ability to practice “mindful parenting.”

Mindful parenting is a term catching on throughout the web. It’s a derivative of “mindfulness,” or the practice of being aware of your emotions and reacting calmly to situations.

There are four main principals of mindful parenting:

1. Parents should be aware of their own feelings when dealing with a child
2. Parents should pause before responding in anger
3. Parents should actively listen to their child’s viewpoint
4. Parents have compassion and respect for the child

Experts point to mindful parenting as a method for not only improving the interactions and overall relationship between child and parent, but also for modeling correct behavior for the child.

Research from the ONE Research Institute by Dr. Nirbhay Singh showed parents of children with ASD who practiced mindful parenting saw a reduction in aggression, noncompliance, and self-injury; parents also had higher satisfaction with their parenting and relationship with their child following these techniques.