Kindy student Ava* is bubbly, strong and always up for a chat! She loves her little brother and snakes and ladders and has a very positive attitude despite having experienced sadness in her short life.
Ava lost her mum when she was very young, and then when her dadwas taken into custody, she and her brother moved to live with her grandparents.
While she didn’t know or understand where her dad went, it affected her. She was struggling to understand complex emotions and found keeping friendships difficult.
Her school could see that she needed some extra support with emotional regulation and to work with people who understood the feelings that accompany a parent being incarcerated, so she reached out to Rise Mentoring.
“Ava has a lovable ability to always see the positive, but at times this makes processing other emotions difficult,” said her mentor.
Ava and her mentor set out to improve her emotional intelligence through play-based sessions.
“Ava is always very excited for her sessions and loves beating me in a game of snakes and ladders!”
“I give Ava the chance to explore her emotions and skills to process them in a supportive and safe environment. It’s helped her understand that all her emotions are important and not scary.”
During her time with Rise, Ava’s dad has been released from prison and re-entered her life. Her mentor has been there to help her with this big change, and know it’s ok to feel uncertain and nervous and that, “all of these emotions have a place in our lives”.
Ava’s regional NSW school has been very supportive of her and the session and understands the support she (and her dad!) needs as they get to know each other again.
“It’s been a privilege watching Ava learn to navigate all her emotions and understand that they all have value,” said her mentor.
“She’s also improving her friendships and reacting in a more suitable way when things don’t go as planned.
“Ava is always very excited for her sessions and loves beating me in a game of snakes and ladders!”
Ava’s teachers have noticed the changes she’s made this year and are so happy to see her making friends and handling conflict better, even when it challenges her desire to be seen as ‘always happy’.
We’re so proud of her success. Great work for such a little kid!
*Names and images changed to protect participant privacy.
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