This month has been filled with appointments, mainly for our oldest son. On top of his regular therapy appointments, we’ve had additional specialised therapy sessions, ASD assessments, and other specialist appointments. We finally finished all the ASD assessments this week and were also prescribed medication to trial for his ADHD. Suffice to say it’s been a lot, and going through all the ASD assessments with him has been hard; mentally and emotionally exhausting.

It’s not easy parenting a neurodivergent kid, but I think one of the most difficult things about it is the stress and worry over how others may perceive them. It’s something that’s completely out of our control, yet it doesn’t help when your kid comes home and tells you that nobody wanted to play with them because they said he was naughty. Or when they tell you that their friends call them names and say that they’re the worst or that they’re an idiot.

It hurts, and you wish you could wrap them up and protect them from the harsh realities of this world, but the sad thing is, neurodivergent or not, your kids are going to meet people who will say and do mean, hurtful things, and this will continue for the rest of their lives! We might not be able to do anything about that, but what we can do is work on building their confidence, self-esteem, and resilience, so they aren’t so easily crushed by the world.

One of the ways I do this is by speaking words of life and affirmation, in particular, Biblical verses and promises, and praying them over our kids. I believe this is one of the most powerful things we can do as mums, so I wanted to share some of these words with you, so you can speak them to and over your kids.

1. You are perfect; fearfully and wonderfully made. (Psalm 139:14)

2. You are special. There is nobody else like you because God has special things planned that only you can do, that’s why He looked at the world and said, I need to make insert your kid’s name. (Jeremiah 1:5)

3. God has great, special plans for you and your future. (Jeremiah 29:11 and Romans 8:28)

4. There is nothing wrong with you because God doesn’t make mistakes. He only makes good things. So that means you are good and perfect, exactly as you are. (Genesis 1:31 and 1 Timothy 4:4)

5. You are brave and strong. You are never alone. God is always with you and He will help you with everything. (Isaiah 41:10 and Joshua 1:9)

And some verses more specific to neurodivergent kids:

1. There is nothing wrong with your brain; it just works differently because everyone is different. If everyone was the same, the world would be boring. We need people with different brains to solve different problems because they can think differently.

2. There will always be people who don’t understand how your brain works, and they may say mean things to you. Some of them might even be your friends, but you cannot believe what they say because they are not true. You are a good person, with a good heart, and you are perfect just the way you are. You don’t need to change; just be you.

I hope you found these verses helpful, and I pray that as you speak them over your children, they take root and help their confidence bloom. Parenting is hard, but parenting neurodivergent kids is even harder. Just remember that you are not alone, but more importantly, that you are doing an AMAZING job! These kids were given to you for a reason, and you are exactly who they need to help them grow and thrive in this world. You’ve got this! ❤️