by Adriana Santiago | Sep 23, 2019 | Uncategorized
Hello everyone it is Dr. Ali, Autism Parenting Strategist. I’m super duper excited because it’s the end of September, hooray, we made it! We made it past the first month of school. So for those having a really really good start, let me know down below in the comments what’s been good so far. For those of you who are still navigating it and are still getting through the changes, let me know if that’s you too!
This is Zachary’s (my son on the autism spectrum) second year of junior high school. Say what?? I can’t believe that’s actually true. Junior High has been an entirely different ball game, and last year was definitely a learning curve for us both. But I’m hoping that this school year will be even better now that we’re kind of in the swing of things and since I’ve perfected some of my strategies for making sure we have School WINS each year. Today I just wanted to share those tips and strategies out with you too so that you and your kids on the spectrum can have school WINs all year long.
Tip Number 1: Create a partnership with the school.
Try and create a partnership with the school. As a person that works with the schools and who has a child in school, I even had to have a conversation with someone from Zachary’s school at the beginning of last year regarding him not getting all of his services during the first month, which you know he should have. So even though a part of me was upset and I wanted to go off, it is very important to establish that we are a team and we are in a partnership. In the end we all want what’s best for Zachary, and this is the language that I need you to start learning on how to use with the schools. Once they understand it’s teamwork, once they understand that you are in it together, once they understand that you’re trying to work with them, they being to try to work with you – and together you get to create something that’s going to work effectively for your child. So even though at the beginning of the conversation I wanted to go, “where is his blah blah blah??” You know, going off because I’m still parent first. I still wanted to make sure that she knew that she was being heard and I wanted her to understand that we are all on the same team. And, I think those wordings tend to bring the edge off a little. Remember it’s teamwork, collaboration. You want to know you guys all are working together as a team, not be constantly fighting.
Tip Number 2: Remember that you have choices.
You have choices, parents have choices. Your choice is whether you wanna keep your child in that school, your choice if you wanna move her to a different classroom or different school, homeschooling, for my homeschooling parents. You have the right to be open to what choices work best for your child. Not to say thats your immediate action, but just always understand that you have choices. So I think that when we know we have choices, we don’t feel like we are stuck in this place. That we’re placed here and we have no control over it, and when parents begin to feel like we don’t have control, then we lose control! If we feel like it’s just your decision and you’re not thinking about what we’re saying and not incorporating us, we begin to feel powerless. And as educators, as parents, we don’t want anyone to lose power in the scene. We understand the school’s power and their choices , but the school also has to understand our power in the choices that we have as parents.
Tip Number 3: Keep your power.
Take back your power in the situation. Keep your power. Remember that your power comes from within you and that no one has the right take away that power. So live in your power, be in your power and feel confidently strong in your power. Autism moms are some of the most powerful women I know, and I know that lies within you as well. Don’t feel that you’re powerless or have no control over what goes on at the school – you DO!
I hope these tips help you and your au-mazing child have many, many, many school WINS this year! Let me know down below in the comments if any of these resonated with you, and feel free to share any tips that you normally use to win when it comes to school. As always be au-mazing in your thoughts, your words, and your actions.
P.S. If you want to experience even more WINS as a mom, as an aspiring entrepreneur, or as an established mompreneur you’ve GOT to be present for my two day live event in Brooklyn, New York on September 28th-29th – Mompreneurs On FIRE! Give yourself permission to be bold, to be brave, to invest in YOUR dreams for once. If you need a major boost to your business and/or you’re looking to connect with other trailblazing business women and grow your tribe, this is the event for YOU. We’re down to our final few seats which are 50% OFF right now! That means you can grab your seat for just $197, and you can even bring a FRIEND with you and get both of your tickets for only $297! Head over to www.mompreneursonfire.com to get yours now or to learn more.
by Adriana Santiago | Sep 16, 2019 | Uncategorized
Hi, it’s your girl Dr. Alisha Griffith, affectionately known as “Dr. Ali.” I am your autism parenting strategist and ignite coach. I help autism moms, mompreneurs, and aspiring mompreneurs, to shift through the feelings of overwhelm, frustration, and stress, and move towards making bold, brave power moves so you can ignite the results you want and live that ultimate dream life you desire.
Now today I wanted to share with you some of my best tips for ensuring a successful school year for your child on the autism spectrum. Zachary just went back a couple of weeks ago and we’ve already set ourselves up to SUCCEED. Now you now I’m a communication expert, and guess what? When it comes to school, which is a whole OTHER level of frustrating for us as autism parents, communication really is KEY. You’ve got to have good relationships and open communication with your child’s school in order for them to get the services, care, and education they need. So my three super juicy tips for an au-mazing school year for your child on the spectrum are all centered around, you guessed it, communication!
Tip Number 1:
Communication Log. This is extremely important. You definitely have to have a way of communicating back and forth with the teacher. Whether you’re using an email system, whether you’re using an actual paperback system, whichever way that you choose, there has to be a communication log. I don’t want you to start school and just look into the notebook and check to see what’s happening. These are au-mazing tips – you’re not going to be a regular parent, you’re going to be an AU-MAZING parent. That means we’re taking everything that we normally would do to the next level. In this communication log we’re telling:
- all the things our child knows well
- what does he like and what doesn’t he like
- behavioral patterns
- things that you know upset your child
- things that you know will help your child when they have a breakdown
- manners of which you should talk to your child.
Tip Number 2:
You have to go meet the teacher! Meet the teacher, meet the therapist, go all the way down to the gym teacher. Meet everyone that is involved with helping your child throughout the year. Why is it important? It’s important so they can see a face, so they can see that this child has a parent that’s actively involved. Take time out of your school day and create a time to meet, every parent of a child with a parent of autism should. There’s always a meet the teacher event, and if your school doesn’t have one or you can make it, reschedule or schedule it for another time. Definitely by the third week of school you should meet the people involved with your child. The only way you can create a system and strategy, the only way you can work on an IEP, the individualized educational plan, together is by visually meeting each other. By putting the education log into something physical and practical, now you get to express to them “this is what I want, these are the expectations.” You get to tell them what your expectations are, and they get to tell you their expectations so you get to be on the same level.
Tip Number 3:
Now here’s the thing that ties everything together: the support. Ask them, “how can I support you?” The question that always helps everyone feel involved in supporting each other is asking, “what can I do at home to support this process? What can I do to support YOU in this process?” Let them know we’re on the same team, let them know we want to work together. We are a cohesive team all looking forward to the child having a successful year. You have to know clearly what a successful year looks like to you. If you don’t know, they won’t know. Ask for support, plan, and execute expectations.
Now I’m not done just yet! I have an exclusive BONUS tip, one that I use every year to really ignite Zachary and I’s success for the school year. CLICK HERE to watch the video where I dive into it all!
P.S. If any mompreneurs out there are reading this who are itching to really boost your business and start focusing on your dreams now that the kids are back in school, I want to invite you to Mompreneurs on Fire! This is a two day LIVE event in Brooklyn, NY from September 28th-29th hosted by yours truly. Not only will you have access to my ultimate tools and strategies that have completely catapulted my business success over the last few years, but you’ll also have access to my tribe of BOSS women and their secret sauce to their own business success as well and make powerful connections in the business. Tickets are going FAST, so make sure to reserve your seat now at www.mompreneursonfire.com.
by Adriana Santiago | Sep 8, 2019 | Uncategorized
[Dr. Ali]
So hey y’all it’s Dr. Ali, and I am super excited to have my sister girl who is here to do our live podcast. We stick like glue, never letting you go.
[Charreah]
Fight like glue. We are in Brooklyn, check check, check it out.
[Dr. Ali]
Check check. So I’m so blessed and fortunate to have Ms. Charreah who is here for us. Charreah Jackson, let me give you your full title. She’s here to join us on our, the Dr Ali Griffith Show Mindset, Meditation and Motivation. And we’re going to tap a little bit into all three of those words today. And I want to know to you, what does having that boss bride mindset all about? What is that all about? Tell our readers what’s that boss bride mindset.
[Charreah]
First, hank you for having me, Dr. Ali Griffith. Okay, it is a pleasure to be here in your space in Brooklyn and my name is Charreah Jackson. I’m a master manifestor. I’m a massive story teller and I am the author of Boss Bride: The Powerful Woman’s Playbook for Love and Success. I’ve spent the last more than a decade at the professional journalists, including currently a contributor at Money Magazine and the New York Times, a former senior editor at Essence, a good friend of this one right here. And so I wrote the book and today we are in a special time. We’re at a time where Tony Morrison has just left this planet and one of the quotes, the brilliant Nobel laureate, just storyteller for powerful people said, “you know, if there’s a book you want to read and it doesn’t exist, write it.” And so I did that with my first book Boss Bride, which I interviewed more than a hundred powerful women on their strategies for navigating their personal and professional life. I was writing and researching and coaching around relationships. I was a professional woman who would work my way up the corporate ladder and I was a woman in love and wanted to know how did women navigate and feel fulfilled both at home and in the workplace and play full out. And so that became the book I wrote. Now in a, in a good movie plot twist the same day I got the contract from my publisher to write that book was the same day I left a long relationship with a man I was planning to marry where we were talking about venues and our parents loved each other and us and, but it just was, I had grown and it was time for me to move on. And it was the biggest boss bride decision I made because the first chapter is, yes, you are a boss bride, so it’s not about one day of your life. It’s not about your relationship status, it’s not about your job title, but it’s really about what would it look like if you treated every day with that mentality mindset of a boss bride, which is the mindset of a boss, someone who is a strategic delegate or someone who is really mentioned there resources. [Zachary enters the room] Hey Zachary, how are you doing? Well that’s, I mean this is what a boss bride is, right? Come on in here and say hey to the people. Didn’t we have a good time at the park today? So we did a slide race, who won Zachary?
[Zachary]
And the winner is… me.
[Charreah]
And the winner is ME. This is really Dr. Ali Griffith and we on the Dr. Ali Griffith Show. This is all about making it happen where she has been a support for me the last few days and we’ve been talking business and we’ve been living in the moment. So the bride part is not about relationship status, it’s about living in the moment. Like we just got to do with Zachary today. We were at the park, her incredible, amazing son who’s just amazing and au-mazing, and we raced him at the slide at the park. But it really is, that’s the bride part of the message, which is not about necessarily just marriage but being present and living in the moment. Cause you think about a bride or a woman on her wedding day. It’s about being present and having the people you care about around. And I don’t believe you just get to have one big day, but what if we treated every day as our big day? So that was the long answer.
[Dr. Ali]
I love that. I love it. I love how you know you came out today with us to the park. And we were intentionally just going to go for a walk. We were going to go to King’s Plaza and do some shopping. And of course, as you see Zachary kind of let the flow happen because he had to give her a tour of his park. And then we went to the little King’s Plaza. But you’re right, today was all about living in the present. Today was all about just know going with the flow, and sometimes we may plan certain things, nd sometimes we may want certain things, and sometimes that’s not exactly how it goes.
[Charreah]
Don’t miss what’s for you trying to get what you think you need.
[Dr. Ali]
Oh, don’t miss what’s for you trying to get the things that you think you need. See, we all think we need all these amazing things and we always have our concept in our head of what it’s going to look like. And I know well all about that as you guys can see what exactly he basically dictates what happens with my day. Even though I am caring for myself, as I will tell most of you guys, and you’re going to see that with my Mompreneurs on Fire two day live event, September 28-29th.
[Charreah]
Save the day, get your tickets to Mompreneurs on Fire!
[Dr. Ali]
Woo. September 28 and 29 we’re going to speak more about making sure that our children are still getting the priority and we’re still giving them our presence. But the chief priority, the main priority is that self care for ourselves, because if we don’t care for ourselves and we’re not finding ourselves and being present with ourselves, then we can have moments like what we did today, which just allow him to just let us flow. So we spoke about mindset. now meditation. Do you ever do meditation in your life?
[Charreah]
Absolutely, absolutely.
[Dr. Ali]
How do you meditate?
[Charreah]
As I said, you know, you go around saying you’re a master manifestor. That’s some bold words. But a lot of that comes from the meditation, right? Because meditation is really intentionality of your mind, right? And so to go deeper and you think about prayer and meditation, and so from a spiritual perspective – I’m very spiritual. You know prayer is communing and sharing your desires and the universe, and meditation is when you open up to receive back messages from the God in you. Right? And so in this new season of my life where I’ve left corporate in the traditional setting and left my role as an editor where I’ve moved out of my apartment in Harlem after 12 years living in New York, and so I’m going through a lot of transition. And so when you decide to play big, your spirit has to grow to accommodate that bigger bolder, newer you. So I have so many powerful experiences in my life, the power of meditation. Which I think the busier you are the bigger you play, and in some ways the more powerful and potent meditation can be, because that’s your opportunity to receive back in, to get refilled spiritually and get refueled spiritually. And so I talk about getting my book deal for my book Boss Bride. You can get a free chapter at www.bossbride.com and that free bonus chapter is called You Are Here, and it’s really an opportunity to get fully present where you are in your life and how do we close that gap between where you are and what’s that next step to that life you desire and dream about? And for me, you know, one of the most powerful potent experiences for me in meditation was at a point in my life where I was stalled professionally and personally where I did not, I had many publishers that had said no to my agent for my book deal or for a book offer, and the worst kind of no was a nice no where like “we like you but…..” Where it’s like I just rather you be like, we DON’T like you than be like, “oh my gosh, yay! But we just did a book like that,” or “we did Steve Harvey’s book,” or whatever reason they have for like, “yeah, thanks, no.” So I had a pile of those from publishers, I was in the relationship that was stalled and we just had grown differently and I’d had so much growth. And people talk about growth, but no one talks about the underbelly of growth. What happens when you grow apart from people you love and care about old friends. Okay, that’s a whole other conversation, but I was really at this place where I’ve been passed over for a promotion I had earned and so I really was just hungry and feeling stagnant. And so that’s where meditation for me became really potent and powerful where I was very clear that I was hurting and unclear about what was next. And the smarter you are and the more powerful and brilliant you are, you know in some ways the more in your own way you can get because you’re so used to being able to create results. And so when you hit that wall where I’ve taken myself as far as I can take me, God I need more is when you get on some ways, God, I’m like, oh, you ready to hear more? And so I got more quiet and created spaces and it was the first time I, you know, audibly heard God and it was clear fast “until you hear from me.” That’s what I heard, and I, you know, I listened because I knew there was something more and eight days later we started getting offers on the book. So I knew that was God and I can never lose, you know, who had brought me that opportunity. So even in the moments that frustration that came afterwards, it wasn’t all a smooth ride from there. But I always knew that this was spiritual.
[Dr. Ali]
Yes, yes, yes. I mean she nailed it right on the nail, or she hit it right on the nail when she mentioned it was about listening. And what we have is we have these brief au-meditation moments and what I call them is basically meditation. And the goal for a busy mom who’s always had like meditation people think is just as something we have to do in the morning or something you have to do with the night. But sometimes we have to do it when we’re in our offices. Sometimes we have to do it when we’re shopping, when we’re having our child having a breakdown right in front of us at a playground. We have to have those moments when we just have to stop, be still breathe and listen. Because if we’re always constantly moving and if we’re always constantly going, if we’re always constantly focusing on everyone else, right? Mompreneurs on Fire, that’s when we’re going to reshift back to business and back to ourselves. And it’s going to help us be still so that we can stop and listen. And when we listen, that’s when we get to hear what we’re supposed to do next. So thank you for sharing that. And the last thing we’re going to leave them with is your motivation. What is it that motivates you every single morning when you get up to do whatever you’re going to do, whether it’s, it’s going to be, you know, she coaches, she speaks, she does amazing things all over the world and she shows up in such, such huge spaces. So what, what motivates you when you get up in the morning?
[Charreah]
Well, I can’t be sitting here in your beautiful Brooklyn space in your studio and not acknowledge what I always talk about, which is the power of community. And so, you know, I’m always talking about squad. You can join my Facebook group at www.pspowersquad.com because I’m all about community. And for me, I know the difference my community has had in my life. And even in the book, every chapter of the book, I have the most important possession we each own. And that is the rain. And I’m not talking about a piece of jewelry. I am talking about the ringing of your phone. Who can you call, who calls you? You know, and we met through a powerful mutual friend and coach and just, you know, spiritual. And so for me, I can’t not talk about the importance of the people in your life. Every big blessing in my life from both times I was hired as an editor at Essence, from getting my book deal, from, you know, the men I’ve loved. I’ve met incredible men through my network, through so many opportunitiesM through seeing you at Steve Harvey’s block conference. We were both there, imagine my great delight when I see the brilliant staff they had there to keep me on track and on time. It’s her one out in LA at vault with Steve Harvey. And so every big blessing, every big opportunity always come back to my squad, to my community and his people. And not just in the high moments but in the low moments, right? When the moments where you kind of forget who you are, when the moments when you are overwhelmed, the moments when you’re just tired. And that has been you for me this week and I’m here, been staying with her and she is not the, it’s the energy, right of community over. You don’t have to do this alone. And so it’s not always going to be you able to motivate you. So make sure you update the favor. The favorites on my phone, I always keep it updated with people who are powerful. And so the more powerful you are, the more support you will need to stay elevated and supported. And, and you do a great job talking about the importance of people. And when you sign up and you come to Mompreneurs on Fire, she’ll be breaking down how to really have those intentional relationships. How does she travel? Literally the world’s speaking around the country with an incredible son with incredible full time career working as a Ph d in The New York City education system, plus so much more. But you have the squad, you have the people. So when you see powerful people, you know that, let me tell you, the secret is they have a powerful squad in community.
[Dr. Ali]
Oh my goodness. Did she just like drop all these bombs and yes, I am so grateful to have you as part of my squad. Yes. Who have you as part of my community to have you as for my listeners to hear today. And so you guys just got some really juicy gems. Even I was taking notes in my head and I’m gonna go back and then we’ll put some, while you watch this or listen to this, you’re gonna hear some treatable coat coats because I want to just make sure that you continue this and I definitely want to see you guys at Mompreneurs on Fire. That’s where we are totally going to reconnect back to ourselves, we connect back to our businesses and reconnect back to how do we move forward in life knowing that we’re living in our true authentic space of just being ourselves and being some really bold boss ladies in this world. Um, so how can they connect with you if they need to connect with you and just let them know where they can follow you or stuff?
[Charreah]
Same @charreah on Facebook, Instagram, Twitter and get your free chapter You are Here at www.bossbride.com which is spouse, bride, the cop woman’s playbook for love and success and definitely stay. I’m in this Mompreneurs on Fire community, so I’m in the squad. So if you get hurt, that’s the beauty of squad secrets is you already know me because you know her. Right? And then anybody, she knows is your friend. Anybody I know is your friend too. So y’all my friends, we just haven’t met yet. So Mompreneurs on Fire. Let’s do this!
[Dr. Ali]
And I’m just going to leave that with that. And the fact that Mompreneurs on Fire isc oming out, she is part of my mastermind content. The delivery for the wording. I mean we did this together. As we did this, we were also highlighting, and I’m going to throw this out there because it’s 2020 and for those who are in different areas, we were thinking Atlanta, but we’re waiting for that. You are waiting to listen to hear what’s definitely going to be, but just think spotlight. I’m just going to leave y’all with that. Just spotlight, right? And just say conference or non-conference or live event spotlight, and Charreah and Dr. Ali. And we are going to be up in there and you are going to just be amazed of your true stardom and your true star power. All right, y’all. So thanks for listening and thanks for watching. And remember in all that you do, be amazing in your thoughts, your words, and then your actions. Peace.
This blog post is a transcription of The Dr. Ali Griffith Show. If you’d like to listen to the interview go to www.thedraligriffithshow.com. If you’d like to watch the interview, go to www.youtube.com/draligriffith.
P.S. YOU’RE INVITED TO MOMPRENEURS ON FIRE. Join us in Brooklyn on Sept. 28th-29th for a weekend of masterminding, strategizing, and igniting our ultimate business dreams. You’ll have access to my tribe of BOSS women and mompreneurs like Ms. Charreah to add to your squad of supportive, likeminded women to hold you accountable to your dreams. Most importantly, you’ll learn the tools and tricks you need to get your priorities in check, make a PLAN for your business, and start getting PAID for your unique gifts. Reserve your seat NOW at www.mompreneursonfire.com.
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