Special Needs Archives

Adrianne Kmet

Monday, October 18 2021 No Comments

Adrianne is a trauma-informed Registered Nurse working with neurodivergent individuals and their families. As a wife and mother of two (soon to be three) children in a neurodivergent family, she deeply understands the importance of acceptance and connection as a safe base from which growth can occur. Adrianne and her husband Martin have used the Hand-in-Hand Parenting tools since their children were young and it has changed their lives!

Alison Kemi

Thursday, July 29 2021 No Comments

Alison is passionate about seeing the goodness in children and their parents, no matter how tough things seem to be, and supporting them to find what works for their own unique situation. Before becoming a parent, Alison had worked for over 10 years as a primary teacher and holds Post Graduate Certificates in Social, Emotional and Behavioural Development and Physical Education. Connecting with children through play and listening to what is most important to them has opened up many opportunities for joy, fun and learning with family, friends and at school.

Alice Ritch

Wednesday, April 7 2021 No Comments

As I filtered through the noise of all the parenting advice out there I kept finding my way back to Hand in Hand Parenting. Here was an approach so rich and deep in its scope, so ahead of its time in terms of trauma informed, embodied practice AND it was based on the real authentic experiences of parents from all over the world.

Summer Sheldon

Friday, August 14 2020 No Comments

Summer Sheldon lives in beautiful rural Oregon with her husband, three kiddos, a dog, two cats, and a very fluffy rabbit. She started using Hand in Hand tools with her young children in 2010 when she heard Patty speak at a conference on the importance of LISTENING to her child’s emotions and CONNECTING through hard

Lara Zane

Monday, November 4 2019 No Comments

Lara lives on the London/Hertfordshire border with her husband and her two sparky, energetic children. Before becoming a parent, she was a primary teacher and was fascinated by neuroscience, child development and learning. When her son was born in 2010, followed by a daughter in 2013 Lara realised that however much theory you know, nothing

Louise Durrant

Tuesday, October 2 2018 No Comments

Louise is mother to two children, who were aged 7 and 4 when Louise was introduced to Hand in Hand Parenting in 2014. “Becoming a mother has been a profoundly life changing experience, which has brought enormous joy, fulfillment and deep wellsprings of love into my life. It has also challenged me beyond what I

Sharon Ryder

Friday, August 26 2016 No Comments

Sharon and her family live in Perth, Western Australia. She is the mother of a primary school-aged boy. Sharon is a speech pathologist who works with young children who have a disability and their families. She has been using the Hand in Hand Parenting, Parenting by Connection approach and listening tools since 2013. Sharon finds

Patty Wipfler, Founder

Thursday, March 20 2014 No Comments

Patty Wipfler was born, raised, and educated in California, graduating from Occidental College in 1968, and is the mother of two sons. The focus of her work since 1974 has been teaching basic listening, parenting, and leadership skills to parents. She directed The School, a non-profit parent co-operative preschool in Palo Alto, and later directed

Kathy Gordon

Friday, August 30 2013 No Comments

Kathy came to parenting late in life. She was single and in her 40s when she recognized her burning desire to be a Mom. So 10 years ago, Kathy adopted a beautiful baby boy, who is now, as tall as she! More than anything Kathy wanted her son to experience the unconditional love that she

Maya Coleman, PhD Clinical Psychology, MA Special Education

Tuesday, August 6 2013 No Comments

Maya Coleman is the Executive Director of Hand in Hand Parenting and leads an international staff and cohort of 180+ Certified Instructors to offer Hand in Hand’s unique social-emotional learning approach to parents and professionals worldwide. For the previous decade, Maya worked as a Clinical Psychologist in private practice with families of young children who

Instructor Specialty: Special Needs