The Difference Between Autism Parent Coaches and Therapists
There are many different types of autism parent coaches and therapists who can help you navigate the journey of parenting and raising your autistic child. It's important to find someone who can meet your unique needs and provide you with personalized support, tools, education, and inspiration to help you reach your goals as a parent or caregiver.
If you're an autism parent, you'll likely encounter countless different coaches, therapists, and counselors who claim to be experts on your kid's diagnosis and treatment options. There is a difference between these two types of professionals, though, so if you're wondering which one is best for you and your family, read on to find out.
What is the difference between autism parent coaches and therapists?
The biggest difference between coaches and therapists is that therapists are designed to help you process and deal with situations and life events that have happened in your past. Coaches are concerned with helping you develop new skills and habits so that you can improve your life going forward. They’re more focused on helping you create new processes in your life, and guiding you through specific circumstances successfully so you can get the results you're after.
While both may help you as an autism parent better understand your feelings, motivations, and desires, coaches work primarily in the present and future, while therapists can help you with events that have already happened. Additionally, coaches are not trained or prepared to help you cope with mental health issues. If you’re feeling overly anxious, depressed, or you’re dealing with more severe mental health concerns, you should speak with a licensed mental health provider regarding your concerns.
What does an autism parent coach do that a therapist doesn't do?
Often, autism parent coaches focus on the positive attributes of people with autism, rather than on the deficits they might have. They help parents by teaching them skills to make life easier and more pleasant for themselves, and their autistic child(ren). While therapists can take a similar view, you're more likely to have an autism-positive experience when working with a coach than a therapist.
Additionally, many autism parent coaches are themselves parents of autistic kids... I certainly am! Autism parent coaches bring their wide knowledge about what the day-to-day life of raising an autistic child is like, which is something that may be missing from a therapist's perspective.
Autism parent coaches are also focused on helping you change the future for yourself and your child(ren). We are more concerned with helping you reach your goals than processing past emotions.
If you're ready to move forward, an autism parent coach will help you do that (and in my experience, usually help you get results sooner than you might see with a therapist).
Is it better to hire an autism parent coach or a therapist?
That depends on you and what you need. If you're dealing with mental health issues, a therapist is your best choice, regardless of what your goals are. I'd suggest checking in to see how you are feeling and taking a few minutes to think about what you hope to gain from reaching out to either an autism parent coach or a therapist.
If the following list describes you, a therapist is probably your best bet:
- Struggling with severe mood regulation issues or other mental health challenges.
- Having panic attacks.
- Trying to process your feelings and emotions around events in the past.
- Recovering from trauma or traumatic events, even if it isn't related to your child's autism diagnosis.
And if the following list describes what you're looking for, an autism parent coach may be what you're looking for:
- Struggling with self-care and remembering who you were before you were an autism parent.
- Trying to adapt to your new normal as an autism parent.
- Wondering how you're supposed to handle everything you're expected to do.
- You're looking for a way forward, but need some support.
- You want to protect and nurture your relationship with your autistic child, but you're not sure exactly how to do that...especially with all the stress you're dealing with.
Where can you find good autism parent coaches and therapists?
To best help you navigate your unique situation as an autism parent, you need to find a coach or therapist who is skilled and has expertise working with autistic individuals and their families. There’s a difference between someone who can offer general support and someone who has specialized training and experience in helping autism families like yours.
This website is an excellent resource for finding licensed mental health professionals...fun fact, it's where I found my therapist! I've been working with her for almost five years, and she's had a tremendous impact on my life. She's actually one of the reasons I had the mental space to create and build Out Of Your Ordinary.
Which, speaking of, I know I may be biased, but I'm going to recommend myself as the autism parent coach you need. You can discover more information about my services by clicking this link.
If you don't think we're the right fit (I've had people tell me they don't want to work with me just because my name is Karen, #TrueStory), you can still contact me and I'll do my best to introduce you to another coach who may better fit your needs and goals.
Conclusion
I'm sure most of us parents of autistic kids would love to have either a coach or a therapist on our side, but there's no real reason why you have to settle for one or the other. Both can be great resources for you to utilize. Hope this article gave you "the real scoop" on what the difference between Autism Parent Coaches and Therapists are, and how you can decide which one is better for you and your family.
If you're curious about how my coaching services can help you and your family thrive, contact me here...I'd love to learn more about you and your family and talk about how I can help you become an Empowered and Engaged Autism Parent.
Meet your self-care coach!
