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Peer Support Group for Parents of Kids on the Spectrum
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Janet Weeks
Aug 23, 2018, 4:07:33 PM8/23/18
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Hi there,
I’m writing to make you aware of a peer support group for parents of kids on the spectrum (w/ or w/o a formal diagnosis) that is starting this fall/winter in Brooklyn or lower Manhattan.
It is co-facilitated by two parents who have personal experience parenting spectrum kids, and also bring professional training to the table in the areas of Special Education and Clinical Social Work.
Following is the flyer. Please share if you think it could be useful to others! And feel free to ask if you have questions about whether this group might be a good fit for you. I’m at this email address, also parentingspe...@gmail.com and 347-834-4958 (Diana Hortsch).
Thanks,
Best, Diana Hortsch (mom to two boys, 14 and 9), Janet Weeks (Mom to one 15-year-old son)
Parenting Spectrum Kids:
A Support and Education Group for Parents
WHEN: Fall/Winter 2018. Day/Time TBD. 8 sessions, each 90 minutes.
WHERE: Brooklyn Heights or lower Manhattan.
COST: $320 for 8-weeks. Financial aid available upon request.
CONTACT: parentingspe...@gmail.com or 347-834-4958.
This 8-week group is an opportunity for parents of children on the autism spectrum to come together, share experiences, and support each other. Using a peer support model, this group is a place to share the joys, acknowledge the frustrations, swap some strategies, and the celebrate milestones with other parents who get it.
The group will also incorporate short educational sections to facilitate practical conversations about how best to support our kids in the context of our busy lives.
Topics addressed will include:
• Behavior as Communication: Understanding behavior and addressing it
• Acknowledging uncomfortable feelings around your child's diagnosis
• Engaging co-parents and extended family members
• Understanding the range of educational and therapeutic approaches & services
• Partnering with teachers and therapists as you advocate
• Understanding dynamic social thinking
• Neurodiversity
Peer facilitators Diana Hortsch and Janet Weeks will share what they have learned as parents, as well as in their training in clinical social work and special education. They seek to bring a positive and realistic voice to the parenting conversation, and to create a safe space where parents can get their own support needs met.
About Diana and Janet
Diana Hortsch, JD, MSW (May 2019). Diana’s dream is to create the support group that she wishes she could have attended 8 years ago. She knows the immense gratification, and the challenges, that come from parenting in an individualized way that seeks to help kids become the people they were meant to be. She has also navigated the world of NYC public and private schools, service providers, tutors, IEPs, and suing the DOE. Diana worked as a human rights attorney for two decades and is now becoming a psychotherapist. She will join the therapy practices of Martha Crawford (lower Manhattan), and Lissa Hunsicker-Kenney (Brooklyn Heights) in July 2019.
Janet Weeks, MSEd (Master of Science in Education), is a special educator and the parent of a son on the spectrum. Her experience as a mother fostered a deep interest in the unique ways people with autism think and learn, which inspired her to leave her career in journalism to retrain as a teacher. She received her Master's in Special Education from Hunter College in 2016 and was the recipient of that year's Shirley Cohen Award in Early Childhood Special Education. As a student teacher, Janet worked at P.S. 682 and P.S. 84 in the ASD Nest program. She currently works as a Special Education Itinerant Teacher for pre-school students at various Brooklyn schools. Prior to that, she taught at the Brooklyn Heights Synagogue Preschool in a general education classroom. Janet also has a bachelor’s degree in dance and performed in San Francisco and New York before getting a "real" job.
I’m writing to make you aware of a peer support group for parents of kids on the spectrum (w/ or w/o a formal diagnosis) that is starting this fall/winter in Brooklyn or lower Manhattan.
It is co-facilitated by two parents who have personal experience parenting spectrum kids, and also bring professional training to the table in the areas of Special Education and Clinical Social Work.
Following is the flyer. Please share if you think it could be useful to others! And feel free to ask if you have questions about whether this group might be a good fit for you. I’m at this email address, also parentingspe...@gmail.com and 347-834-4958 (Diana Hortsch).
Thanks,
Best, Diana Hortsch (mom to two boys, 14 and 9), Janet Weeks (Mom to one 15-year-old son)
Parenting Spectrum Kids:
A Support and Education Group for Parents
WHEN: Fall/Winter 2018. Day/Time TBD. 8 sessions, each 90 minutes.
WHERE: Brooklyn Heights or lower Manhattan.
COST: $320 for 8-weeks. Financial aid available upon request.
CONTACT: parentingspe...@gmail.com or 347-834-4958.
This 8-week group is an opportunity for parents of children on the autism spectrum to come together, share experiences, and support each other. Using a peer support model, this group is a place to share the joys, acknowledge the frustrations, swap some strategies, and the celebrate milestones with other parents who get it.
The group will also incorporate short educational sections to facilitate practical conversations about how best to support our kids in the context of our busy lives.
Topics addressed will include:
• Behavior as Communication: Understanding behavior and addressing it
• Acknowledging uncomfortable feelings around your child's diagnosis
• Engaging co-parents and extended family members
• Understanding the range of educational and therapeutic approaches & services
• Partnering with teachers and therapists as you advocate
• Understanding dynamic social thinking
• Neurodiversity
Peer facilitators Diana Hortsch and Janet Weeks will share what they have learned as parents, as well as in their training in clinical social work and special education. They seek to bring a positive and realistic voice to the parenting conversation, and to create a safe space where parents can get their own support needs met.
About Diana and Janet
Diana Hortsch, JD, MSW (May 2019). Diana’s dream is to create the support group that she wishes she could have attended 8 years ago. She knows the immense gratification, and the challenges, that come from parenting in an individualized way that seeks to help kids become the people they were meant to be. She has also navigated the world of NYC public and private schools, service providers, tutors, IEPs, and suing the DOE. Diana worked as a human rights attorney for two decades and is now becoming a psychotherapist. She will join the therapy practices of Martha Crawford (lower Manhattan), and Lissa Hunsicker-Kenney (Brooklyn Heights) in July 2019.
Janet Weeks, MSEd (Master of Science in Education), is a special educator and the parent of a son on the spectrum. Her experience as a mother fostered a deep interest in the unique ways people with autism think and learn, which inspired her to leave her career in journalism to retrain as a teacher. She received her Master's in Special Education from Hunter College in 2016 and was the recipient of that year's Shirley Cohen Award in Early Childhood Special Education. As a student teacher, Janet worked at P.S. 682 and P.S. 84 in the ASD Nest program. She currently works as a Special Education Itinerant Teacher for pre-school students at various Brooklyn schools. Prior to that, she taught at the Brooklyn Heights Synagogue Preschool in a general education classroom. Janet also has a bachelor’s degree in dance and performed in San Francisco and New York before getting a "real" job.
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