About Christine L'Abbé
Awakening Transformation and Empowerment
I’m Christine L’Abbé, a mother to two incredible daughters, Juliana and Gabi, who lives with Rett syndrome. My personal journey as Gabi’s mother has shaped every part of the work I do today.
Walking alongside a child with complex medical and developmental needs transformed how I understand resilience, healing, and the environments that allow children—and families—to truly flourish. Through both the challenges and the extraordinary moments of connection, I began to see that development and healing are influenced not only by therapies and interventions, but by the emotional and relational environments surrounding a child.
This realization changed everything for me.
It led me on a path of learning, exploration, and service—seeking to better understand the ways parents, professionals, and communities can support children in ways that nurture their potential rather than limit it. Along the way, I discovered that when parents feel supported, grounded, and empowered, they are able to create the conditions where their children can grow, learn, and thrive.
Beyond my work with families and professionals, I am also a lifelong learner. I am currently completing a Master of Education in Health Professions Education at the University of Ottawa and will continue my studies through a PhD in Rehabilitation Sciences, exploring how relational environments and caregiver experiences influence children’s development and participation.
Through my podcast Evolving Together: Beyond the Diagnosis, my writing, and my work with families and professionals, I hope to contribute to a broader shift in how we understand neurodiversity, disability, and complex health journeys.
Above all, my greatest hope is that every child—and every family—feels seen, supported, and empowered to discover what is possible for them.
A Message For Parents
If you are walking the path of raising a child with neurodiversity, disability, or complex health needs, I want you to know that you are not alone.
I understand how deeply a diagnosis can shake the ground beneath you. It can bring uncertainty, grief, and the quiet fear that the future you imagined for your child has suddenly changed. These moments can feel overwhelming, but they can also become the beginning of a different kind of journey—one that invites us to grow in ways we never expected.
Over time, I have come to see that supporting our children begins with how we learn to support ourselves. When we give ourselves the space to process our emotions with compassion, to question the beliefs we have been taught about ability and limitation, and to reconnect with our own inner steadiness, something powerful begins to shift. We start to see our children more clearly—beyond labels, beyond expectations, and beyond the fears that once defined the path ahead.
This work is not about becoming a perfect parent. It is about becoming a more present one.
As we grow in awareness and self-understanding, we create a relational environment where our children can feel safe, seen, and supported in discovering who they truly are. And in that environment, their unique strengths and possibilities begin to unfold.
There will be moments of grief along this path, and those moments deserve to be honored. Letting go of the life we once imagined is part of making space for the life that is waiting to emerge. But alongside that grief, there can also be joy, connection, and a deeper understanding of what it means to walk this journey together.
The moment we learn to see our children beyond the limits we were once taught, we begin to create a different future for them—and for ourselves.
From My Heart To Yours
In this short video, I share more of my personal journey as the mother of a child with Rett syndrome. It is a story of love, resilience, and the many moments that reshaped how I understand healing, parenting, and what it means to truly walk beside a child through uncertainty.
There have been moments of immense joy—watching my daughter grow, learn, and express her unique spirit—and moments of deep fear, when her health was fragile and the path ahead felt uncertain. Through those experiences, I discovered a profound truth: the strength we need as parents often emerges from within us when we learn to care for our own emotional and inner world.
This journey taught me that the environment we create—through our presence, our regulation, and the way we see our children—can become a powerful foundation for their growth and healing.
I hope this video offers a glimpse into that journey and reminds you that even in the most difficult moments, there is still space for connection, strength, and possibility.
