“Robert had a lot of anxiety, and when he was angry or frustrated he didn’t know how to express it and would have tantrums instead. He was starting to hit and scratch me and we couldn’t even take him out. I was isolated at home. I wish I could show you what Robert is like today and how much he has changed from when we began the Stepping Stones Triple P program. You wouldn’t think he was the same child. I just hope that all families who have a child with a disability have the opportunity to participate in Stepping Stones as our family is living proof that it can make a huge difference to their lives.”

Read Cathy’s story of how she reclaimed a balanced and happy life for herself and her autistic son, Robert.

Email Letters

Dear Sir or Madam

My name is Thomas (name changed) and my wife, Christine (name changed), and I took part in a pilot Triple P project this summer.

We have two children Jack, 22 months (name changed) and Mary, 6 months (name changed).

My wife and I gained an incredible amount of practical information given in a friendly non-invasive environment by Claire and her co-presenter. We really enjoyed the meetings both for the discussion with Claire and also the other parents.

The advice was presented in an easy to understand format and supported well by video. Having the sections broken down into completable weekly tasks really helped Christine and I approach the guidance of our children in a steady manner. Many of the changes suggested were really changes in our parenting rather than forcing something unreasonable upon the children.

We have been pleasantly surprised by how well our children behave both in our company and with babysitters. Although they're far from being angels we now have the tools to control potentially explosive situations and I think that helps for a more relaxing and predictable home life. And happy children.

My wife and I share the same childhood experiences of alcoholism and family breakup and we didn't want to recreate those experiences for our children. Having no positive parental input on my part (Christine has a strong relationship with her mother) really came to the fore with the birth of Mary and I'm glad to say Triple P came along just at the right time.

I wish you well with the project for the future.

Yours sincerely

Thomas (name changed)

Parent Comments

"I am so glad I did this program. I feel a lot more confident as a parent and my son knows what to expect. Consistency is the key for me. Thank you."

"It has helped me to see that not all the problems were my son’s behaviour, but how I dealt with them. The biggest changes came in my own behaviour."

"I want to thank you for giving me other ways to deal with problem behaviour instead of yelling and getting no-where. I am definitely feeling more confident."

"Excellent. Every parent should do this course. Many thanks."

"Gave me a lot more confidence as a parent. Good strategies for managing bad behaviour that work. Good ideas for parenting eg importance of positive actions (praise) and that they really make a big difference. It would be great if this programme was made more known to parents. It would have been of great benefit to use before my son reached the terrible 2s. We probably wouldn’t have fallen into some of the traps (eg giving in, smacking, etc) that we initially did before seeking help. I’m sure we will have better parenting skills with our daughter than we initially did as first time parents. Great Programme – thanks, you saved us!!"

"Excellent. Has helped my husband and I to work together with the same treatment for kids from both of us."

"The best part was meeting with other people, discussing your problems and finding out about little things you can do – star charts, praise and spending quality time, and I don’t want to leave the group"