To create a community of parents together with Greenwich Public School staff who are open to explore the benefits of mindfulness, self compassion and reflection to support parents and their children through the special education process.

Week 3 Article (Tuesday evening, 3/2/21) or (Friday morning, 3/5/21)

https://www.mindful.org/what-the-mirror-can-teach-you-about-yourself-advice-from-a-mirror-gazing-expert/

Week 4 Discussion (Tuesday evening, 3/9/21) or (Friday morning, 3/12/21)

Noticing:

We can choose to notice more of what we enjoy. Being mindful is a state of presence, of being attentive, watching, observing, reflecting, being acutely aware. When we pay attention to our current experience, we notice the details like thoughts, feelings, sensations like smells, what we are doing, where we are and what is happening in the world around us from one moment to the next. We are accepting of what we notice and let it be what it is. We can take a mindful moment to pause to spend it in uplifting appreciation and joy of what we become more aware of. We can also focus on paying attention to something specific, almost like we are seeing it or experiencing it for the first time. Every day we can try to notice and appreciate one thing that [would] usually go unnoticed. Noticing can improve our mental well-being and lets us feel good about life and about ourselves” (Gerber, p. 35).

From: Mindful Mind-shift: A workbook for mindfulness by Benjine Gerber. Benjine Gerber was identified as autistic in 2012. Her occupation is freelance graphic designer and user experience designer. She is quite a solitary person who loves creating, writing, working in the garden and taking a walk. Over the years she has been learning about mindfulness, meditation, emotional regulation and medical science, which are topics that she enjoys writing about.

• Sabrina Motta, speech-language pathologist
• Maria Martinez-Zanghi, speech-language pathologist
• Kristen Mulhearn, district social worker
• Geanna Partland, special education teacher