What's Up With Parent Education Seminars?

Why is it parents are failing to show up to free education seminars offered on the weekends? The topics have covered how parents can get out of autism mode and strengthen their marriages and how to decrease dependence and possible addicition to the internet and gaming.

Is it the topics? Is it the time of day? Is it fatigue? is it a sense of hopelessness about more parent education? Or is it parents not wanting to really put in the hard work of changing long established patterns of behavior?

Sometimes I think all of the in-home ABA that families have received has had the unintended consequence of parents thinking and expecting that an "therapist will do all of the heavey lifting. Maybe. Maybe not.

Certainly changing marital patterns or reducing an autistic child/teens use of electronics are very demanding objectives --  tough sledding all of the way. But at the end of the day no amount of behavior modification is going to transform thinking and human motivation. Parents are guides and kids on the spectrum need their parents to act like guides (with coaching at our seminars, of course).

It is quite frustrating really -- wanting to help, offering help, and having little interest. If any parent out there has feedback for me I would love to hear what's going on with our seminar series.

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