For organizations like Lakeside who deal with students who have experienced trauma and adversity, we recognize that what is going on at home is so important to the ability of the student to heal. Often there have been family struggles and both the student and the parents are working through significant issues in their relationship.
There are usually a number of conflicts where the parents of these students need to have clarity. The journey is not easy and there is a lot to learn as parents continue to navigate the many struggles, which can feel overwhelming. Not only are there the normal developmental phases of the teenage years but also the neurological realities and trauma responses that are unpredictable and cause increased challenges.
Scotty Aemis is an adoptive parent who had a son in our Souderton Vantage Academy. He and his wife were committed to being supportive of their two adopted sons. They realized that they were ill-equipped to know how to respond to some of the attitudes, behaviors and perspectives of their trauma-impacted children. As they began to understand the impact of trauma and adversity, they fully embraced the journey of learning how to parent a trauma-impacted student.
They listened and worked with our staff, learned about trauma’s impact on the teenage brain, adapted to a different relational set of dynamics, and slowly but surely found ways to connect, relate and support their kids. They had to reset their expectations and become quite fluid in how they parented. The effort and hard work they put forth paid off and slowly but surely, they were able to be a significant part of their son’s life and healing.
Scotty became a student of his children and a student of trauma. He researched, changed his perspectives, adapted his relational style, adapted to the needs of his kids and strived to support other parents. He became an advocate, a supporter of Lakeside and even became a member of our Board of Directors.
During his own growth and discovery, Scotty gained a vision for parents of trauma-impacted kids. He took all of his knowledge, research, compassion, capacities and values and created the book Rewired Through Relationship, which is a practical guide for parents to understand and manage challenging behaviors, comprehend the vital nature of relational connection, and recognize that the relational aspects of that connection have to be in place for significant change to occur.
This book is written with a heart for parents, characterized by great sensitivity to their journey with a trauma-impacted child. It is practical, non-judgmental and has a balanced perspective on how parents need to adapt in order to be a healthy parent for change and growth in their family. This is such a vital and helpful book that every parent needs to have in their library as it can guide them through what can be a very challenging process. Scotty has lived it and now is effectively sharing it with other parents.
Rewired through Relationship is a book that I highly recommend (I even wrote the forward) and is available today on Amazon. I am truly excited about how this long over-due book will be a help and support to so many parents with good research, understanding, and guidance as they navigate this important phase of their family. I deeply appreciate all of Scotty’s journey and how he has effectively brought this valuable book into reality.
Gerry Vassar
President/CEO
