Neurodiversity 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.

Priya Raghav, LICSW, RPT-S

Tuesday, January 19 2021 No Comments

Dear lovely parents! I am a proud mother of a passionate 9 year old boy, and a licensed Child and Family Therapist practicing in Seattle WA, supporting the emotional wellbeing of children ages 3-9 and their caregivers. I came across ‘Hand in Hand parenting’ both as a parent and a professional. While I knew all

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

Fruzsina Balogh

Wednesday, September 18 2019 No Comments

I graduated with majors in English and Communication/Media, I worked as a journalist and for an NGO focusing on people with disabilities. I always loved working with people especially with the ones in need and I always had a very strong inner motivation to “change the world”. When my son was born in 2012, I

Karen Wolfe, LMFT

Friday, June 1 2018 No Comments

Karen Wolfe, MA is a licensed Marriage and Family Therapist, Certified Hand in Hand Parenting Instructor, and the founder of SF Bay Play Therapy Family Counseling Center serving families and couples in San Francisco, Oakland, and through telehealth throughout California. She has been supporting children and families since 2002 and her specialty is doing play

Belynda Smith

Tuesday, January 2 2018 No Comments

When I became a parent I was besotted! I read everything I could find on how to help my son thrive. Yet we struggled tremendously with sleeplessness, tantrums, aggression and a variety of life challenges. By the time my second son arrived three years later I was a mess; I continued to search for something

Velma Gentzsch

Tuesday, March 21 2017 No Comments

Velma had played Super Mario Brothers twice–as a 5th grader at the neighbor’s house–before she entered the world of video games with her 8-year-old son. Much to her surprise, she discovered gaming could bring her son closer instead of creating conflict and driving them apart. She even learned to love video games. She got to

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

Marilupe de la Calle

Tuesday, March 29 2016 No Comments

En Español I’m Marilupe, and I’m glad you’re here today. I am a Mexican mom living in the US with my husband and my two amazing girls. I feel fortunate that I get to share this gem I found called Hand in Hand Parenting with you. This approach connected me to my girls in ways

Sareli Beltran

Wednesday, September 16 2015 No Comments

Sareli has over a decade of experience supporting families through various culturally sensitive tools. It was through her work as a positive parenting educator, that Sareli was first introduced to the wonderful world behind the Parenting by Connection approach. Being a natural skeptic, she decided to take Hand in Hand’s Professionals Intensive first and began

Carol Kellendonk

Wednesday, March 4 2015 No Comments

I am a certified music teacher and I have been teaching in different school settings for over 25 years. I am also the mother of four children from age thirteen to twenty five. I started teaching, because I always had a good connection and a natural empathy with children. I also deeply believed, that every

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

Laurel Near

Tuesday, September 10 2013 No Comments

Laurel Near is the mother of three, two boys and a girl, who are now all adults. She began practicing Parenting By Connection with Patty Wipfler in the late 80s. After completing certification, she taught Building Emotional Understanding classes in her home, marketing only through word-of-mouth. Now she teaches at least four BEU classes per

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: Neurodiversity