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Supportive Staff and New Friends Showed This Young Woman How to be Independent

Sometimes we feel we’re giving our children enough support. We wonder what more they could possibly need. Especially if they’ve already worked with therapists or have the benefit of family and friends to turn to. But despite your best efforts your child is still struggling. It might be that you’re not providing the right type of support to your child. Or you’re not offering it in a way your child understands. The Support at a Transition Program is Different For this young woman, things started changing after she came to New Directions. Having someone from the staff available to talk to whenever she needed them was a huge part of helping her overcome her social anxieties and feel like a part of the group rather than an outsider. The staff support wasn’t the only aspect of NDFYA she found beneficial. After she adjusted to living with the other students, she realized it was helpful to talk with them, too. Meeting People and Making Friends Living with her housemates was the biggest reason she found new friends while at New Directions. Being around the small group of people all the time helped her realize she was just like them, not an outsider as she initially felt. It forced her to spend time with personalities she ordinarily wouldn’t befriend. She learned how to associate with different types of people and enjoy hanging out with people who weren’t her typical friends. Soon the nights her house hosted dinner became one of her favorite social events. Gaining Confidence It took a while to feel comfortable during the social events offered by New Directions. “At first I wasn’t aware of how I needed it in my life,” she says. After a while she started attending the activities because she “felt left out.” It was difficult to adjust to the idea that the group was about the whole, rather than individuals, but soon she realized she was a part of the group. As she joined in on the social gatherings, she came to realize she didn’t always need to second-guess herself while around other people. “I can speak to people without getting nervous or paranoid.” It Might Be What Your Child Needs It took going hundreds of miles away from home for this young woman to get stabilized on her medications and learn how to be confident around other people. But she’s glad she made the trip.
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