When your student is growing, changing, and learning, you may look at them and see their potential. This may include imagining where they could end up and how it might look for them to live independently as an adult. When you think about these changes, it is normal to expect and want them to happen quickly. You want your student to be thriving now rather than at some point in the future. However, change is a slow process. Giving your student time to take small steps now will help them to truly reach their potential and create lasting change.
The Process of Change
As your student has grown up, they have slowly accumulated many skills, like learning how to walk and talk. However, they have also likely learned new skills in sports, learned to make new friends, and have started to learn skills necessary to function as an independent young adult. Some of these changes may have felt quick, while others probably appeared like they were always there. As your student is developing and growing into a young adult, you are likely starting to see some of their potential. You are not alone if you tend to jump ahead to think about where they could be.
However, it is important to consider what the actual process of change is like. Change is a slow process. While you may have jumped ahead, your student in front of you may not be there quite yet. Looking and seeing where your student is currently at is important. They are likely not at their full potential. However, it is also likely that they have grown and changed a significant amount in the past few years.
Fortunately, with support, these changes can and will happen over time. When your student makes small changes, grow new skills, and take on new challenges, they will slowly change. In this way, you can help them to reach their full potential.
Helping Your Student Reach Their Potential
As a parent, you want your student to thrive in college or whatever they choose to do. Ultimately, you want them to reach the potential that you see in them. Fortunately, there are many resources that can help you to do so. Northwest College Support believes that focusing on small steps is the best way for you to support your student during this transitional time.
When you focus on one step at a time, you are giving your student bite-size pieces of the bigger picture. What you choose to focus on and in what order will depend on your student. However, the overall process will be similar to other learning experiences. In short, you are acting as a guide, breaking down skills so that your student can practice each of them separately.
As your student learns one piece, they will be ready for the next. Remember, the process of learning is one step at a time. However, it is always shifting and changing. When you have taken it one step at a time, you will look back and think just how far your student has come.
Support for Your Student to Reach Their Potential
Your student's specific situation is unique to them. However, if your student struggles with their mental health, sensory processing, or learning differences, helping them to reach their potential can be difficult. As a parent, it is normal to feel frustration regarding how to best support your student. Fortunately, you and your student can get support. In doing so, both you and your student will have a more clear picture of the process and what they need as they make changes that move them toward their full potential.
Northwest College Support offers programs that can support you and your student during this time of learning and transition. Our programs help you by offering parent coaching. Parent coaching is an opportunity for you to work with a mental health professional to better your understanding of what your student needs. It gives you a space to learn and also provides you with support. This is unique because the support comes with a clear understanding of your unique challenges with your student.
Additionally, programs at Northwest College Support provide your student with the support to make small changes over time. This method is used throughout the programs at Northwest College Support because it is a method that works. It not only helps your student to feel more confident but also provides them with new skills that help them to functionally live as an independent adult. While this change is not immediate, it does occur. Regardless of what your student is struggling with, they can learn and grow. Programs at Northwest College Support can help facilitate this change.
When thinking about change, it is normal to want to see a quick and effective result. However, growing and learning is a slow process. At Northwest College Support, we believe that helping students change at their own pace helps create sustainable skills that your student will be able to use throughout their life. We offer a variety of programs, from distance learning to full support in Coeur d'Alene, ID. If you are concerned about your student making progress and feel stuck, we can help both you and them to move forward by taking one step at a time. To learn more about what programs we have available or to ask any questions, call us today at (877) 485-2776.