Mindbuilders Consulting

Sibylle Janert is a psychologist with almost 20 years experience of working with babies, young children and families living with developmental delay, behaviour difficulties and/or autism, an MA in the Psychology of Therapy and Counselling (Regents College) and an MA in Infant Mental Health (Tavistock Clinic), where her qualifying paper was on 'Bangladeshi mothers and behaviour problems'. She is the author of ‘Reaching the Young Autistic Child’ (FAB 2000) and two Picture Books:‘In the Family: Effective Parenting and Behaviour Management’ for parents (MindBuilders 2004) and 'Autism in the Family' for parents and siblings (MindBuilders 2007) and, together with Carol Mannion, of 2 sets of 'MindBuilders' Rhyme cards' (2009) . Sibylle is the first trained PLAY Project Home Consultant in the UK and holds a DIR-Floortime certificate. She also runs groups, training, workshops and consultations in the UK and internationally, including Germany, Scotland, India (Kolkata), Bangladesh (Dhaka), Africa (Swaziland), Bolivia. MindBuilders: Empowering parents + going far with limited resources MindBuilders work is based on over 20 years experience with families, babies and children diagnosed as autistic, and from many different cultural, ethnic, religious, educational or class backgrounds, family situations and traditions. MindBuilders is a small not-for-profit organisation based in Tower Hamlets offering family-centred home consultations and early intervention, mostly in the London area to families with a child with communication difficulties, developmental delays, autistic or other puzzling or challenging behaviours. Its focus is on 'play as the language of childhood' and on empowering parents to help their children to relate to others and make sense of the world. In my work with families I encountered again and again the same kinds of issues about behaviour, parental control, lack of attention and movement, boundaries and encouragement, nothing to do or play with at home, helplessness in the face of powerful advertising, electronic toys and devices, - always paired with a great deal of distress, confusion, unhappiness and despair by parents and children alike. But we do not need expensive toys or techniques to remedy this situation. In fact, the most whole-some way forward often comes with common sense, simplicity, creativity, imagination and staying with the natural order of things. When we realize that 'Small is beautiful' and often 'Less is more', we become free to be in the moment and play with what we have.