After struggling to get my child support he needed and going through some really difficult times, it’s how to find the energy to keep going that is so hard. 

So my tips to finding and maintaining that strength to keep going!!

• Remember you are the expert on your child and you see them from a whole perspective. Despite a school telling you they are not like that at school… you know they “cope” or “conform” and bottle it up ready for you. You do know your child best !!
• In the middle of everything find something that you do for yourself. To neglect yourself means you are not firing on all cylinders and you need to have that energy and strength. 
• Find people to talk to who have been through similar journeys. No one understands it more than a family who have been on the same path. 
• Keep an audit trail of everything you discuss or receive. Even if you have a chat on the phone make a note of it and document it. Keep all records of everything and print out as you go along. 
• When you receive any documents make a note of things you need for any future discussions and if you need to challenge it as it comes up. The amount you end up with is just huge and key points and detail can quickly get lost 
• Take people into meetings who can be supportive and pick up on things when you struggle to articulate it. Remember you are emotional as it’s your. Child and that’s ok. Someone else can help you keep focused and reinforce what you want to say. 
• Prepare everything you need prior to any meeting. Think of key outcomes you want from the meeting and what you need and how it will be measured. Have hard copies of all documents, reports and assessments and any communication set out in a timeline is ideal so you can locate information and keep focused. 
• When you are faced with a negative or barrier just keep going. You will find that happens a lot but doesn’t mean you are wrong. Believe in what you are doing and remember the first point I made that you are the expert in your child.