Our Mission
Extraordinary Minds, Inc. provides
an empowering and supportive approach to families to improve the relationship between parent and child, resulting in parents
helping their children to reach their true potential. Our intervention philosophy is based on the most recent
recearch in child developmental psychology, neurology, autism and other developmental disabilities. Extraordinary Minds
emphasizes the importance of a systems or family approach to the restoration of the Guided Participation Relationship between
Guide (parent) and Apprentice (child). This relationship is the universal, typical parent-child relationship that may
be disrupted due to a variety of circumstances.
Children that have neuro-developmental disabilities such
as Autism Spectrum Disorder, Attention Deficit Disorder, Reactive Attachment Disorder, Oppositional Defiant Disorder, Traumatic
Brain Injury and others, fail to provide their parents with the appropriate feedback required to establish and sustain the
Guided Participation Relationship. Because of the atypical feedback received by thier child, parents often find themselves
overcompensating, instructing or getting into constant control battles with their child, minimizing the child's opportunities
to learn from their parent as neuro-typical children do.
Adults that suffer from various disabilities and/or environmental stressors
can also contribute to the bareakdown of the Guided Participation Relationship. Parents with a history of mental illness,
depression, addiction or abuse and neglect often are not able to engage their children in a way that will guide them to learn
about thier world. Restoration of the Guided Participation Relationship will help establish a trusting and productive
relationship where the parent is better able to provide opportunities for the child to learn about relationsips and the world.
The improvment of this relationship will not merely improve the parent-child relationship
but will improve the child's ability and motivation to actively and competently engage in the world around them, vastly
improving one's quality of life.
Consider your dreams for your child one year from now, five years
from now, even ten years from now. Our goals are the same as yours. We want your child to be able to...
- Delight in true
friendship
- Enjoy their own children
- Feel capable to live independently
- Engage in genuinely curious conversation
- Experience the
satisfaction of successful employment
- Enjoy the experience of a
boyfriend or girlfriend; husband or wife
- Feel a sense
of pride in being able to contribute to the community
Our Philosophy
Our intervention philosophy is
based on the premise that everyone can learn and there are no limits to one's potential. The beautiful
thing about the mind is that it is always learning and evolving, and it is never too late. Together, we
will create an individualized treatment plan that will foster competence and will demonstrate a respect for you
and for your child's individual personalities and focus on the special needs of your child and family.
In order to produce successful adults, we must begin to address
the debilitating deficits in dynamic intelligence that are often found in individuals with neuro-developmental
disabilities or that have not had a positive experience in the Guided Participation Relationship. Guided Participation
leads to dynamic intelligence. Dynamic Intelligence is our ability to adapt to the ever-changing world
around us. It provides us with the tools to solve both simple and complex problems, establish and maintain
meaningful relationships, understand other people's perspectives and successfully navigate the world. Without
the foundations of dynamic intelligence, truly enjoying and participating in the real world is impossible.
Neuro-typical individuals seek out dynamic systems because they provide variety, novelty and meaning to our lives.
