What a heartfelt story, Melissa! I'm feeling so many different emotions from reading your story.

What I've found to be very helpful is in understanding them from a Human Design perspective. You can generate a birth chart using their place, date, and time of birth. I study their charts to see how they are designed to use their energies, which might differ from the majority, and how they might be sensitive to external influences. It's non-religious and there are no weird spiritual jargon to learn. I have seen more of my friends use Human Design to adjust their parenting styles for their individual kids.

Happy to chat more about this if you're keen to explore.