Were you ever teased or bullied? Have you ever had friendship troubles? Do you ever feel overwhelmed by the suffering in the world?
Then you know how Joey felt.
Joey is a young man with autism, and he was dealing with these types of challenges when he discovered Kidpower in 2020.
With Kidpower online coaching, Joey learned how to use his ‘safety powers’ in real-life situations he faces at home, at work, and with friends.
Joey is also a talented artist, and drawing helped him integrate his new skills. His drawing here shows how he uses the Emotional Raincoat Technique – an emotional safety strategy to protect your feelings in an emotional storm when it doesn’t work to just leave – to protect himself not just from hate and anger directed at him but also from the overwhelm he feels because of suffering in the world.
Now, Joey feels safer and more confident – just like the calm, smiling person he shows us in his drawing!
He says, “I like it when we talk about social stuff. I learned to Check First before giving a hug. I like to draw Fullpower stories with kitties using their Safety Powers. It makes me happy!”
Plus, Joey is interested in helping others learn safety skills, too! Together with his Kidpower coaches and other young adults with communication challenges, Joey has been making role-play videos for our Safetypowers course, a powerful free resource funded by Ability Central and designed to make safety skills more accessible.
Your donation in any amount to our year-end giving campaign will help Kidpower to provide potentially life-saving training and resources for people like Joey and others in your community who face a high risk of bullying, abuse, and harassment.
Please donate today! All gifts through December 31 will be doubled by our Leadership Circle.
Your donation powers our work!
Published: December 26, 2022 | Last Updated: December 26, 2022
Irene van der Zande, Kidpower Founder and Executive Director
Kidpower Founder and Executive Irene van der Zande is a master at teaching safety through stories and practices and at inspiring others to do the same. Her child protection and personal safety expertise has been featured by USA Today, CNN, Today Moms, the LA Times, and The Wall Street Journal. Publications include: cartoon-illustrated Kidpower Safety Comics and Kidpower Teaching Books curriculum; Bullying: What Adults Need to Know and Do to Keep Kids Safe; the Relationship Safety Skills Handbook for Teens and Adults; Earliest Teachable Moment: Personal Safety for Babies, Toddlers, and Preschoolers; The Kidpower Book for Caring Adults: Personal Safety, Self-Protection, Confidence, and Advocacy for Young People, and the Amazon Best Seller Doing Right by Our Kids: Protecting Child Safety at All Levels.