Jayne's story

Jayne was left feeling depressed and anxious because of her son’s behaviour at home and in school. Struggling to cope with her out of control household had shattered Jayne’s self-confidence, leaving her feeling stressed and exhausted by life. Her son’s behaviour was also creating friction between Jayne and her husband as they battled to parent him, which was upsetting for the other children in their family.

Through her weekly meetings with her Parent Worker, Jayne was able to recognise the need to communicate effectively with her husband and tell him how she was feeling. She decided that it might be best if they could find a way of presenting a “united front” towards their son, without disagreeing on appropriate discipline methods in front of him. Her Parent Worker helped her to devise a behaviour chart together with her son, working out achievable goals and appropriate rewards (which were not always of a material nature). Jayne engaged whole-heartedly in this process. Week by week she set small goals which she made a point of achieving, raising her self-confidence. She began to communicate effectively with her husband. Thanks to the behaviour chart they were able to maintain a sensible bedtime routine with their son. This allowed them to spend more quality time together in the evenings. “This experience has made me a much stronger person.” Said Jayne afterwards.