Laura’s Story

This is the story of Laura. Laura is 7years old and in her 3rd year at school. She has been identified as a struggling student. She finds it difficult to come to school each day, not wanting to leave her mother and join the class. She is quiet, withdrawn and needs a personalised learning program and team to help her access the classroom curriculum. She has anxiety and learning difficulties. Laura’s father completed my Oxygen for Parents Program held at Laura’s school. He joined other parents to work on their levels of connection with themselves and their families. He wanted to help his daughter succeed at school and in life. He learnt to meditate, to disconnect from work before he got home; how to mindfully interact with Laura and to develop mindful communication with his wife and family. During a Program Support Group meeting held to discuss Laura’s progress the teachers commented on changes in Laura that they couldn’t explain. They didn’t think they had done anything differently to cause these changes. Laura was connecting to her classmates. She had started to contribute in class and was tackling learning tasks she had previously avoided. It wasn’t until the Deputy Principal overheard Laura’s mother, Selma, talking to the reception staff it became clear what had changed. Selma wanted to pass on her thanks to me for running the program that her husband had attended. She made the statement “thank you for giving me back my husband and my children their father”. The Deputy knew that this was the key to Laura’s newfound confidence and resilience. In working on himself, his family had also gained the benefits and Laura was a different child – confident, happy, connected and learning.