Aila, the Founder, was formerly Paula
Kanai
We met Aila when our first and only child Kanai was 6 months old. We have high values around our mindset, our culture, and having an embodied experience of life. We were advanced in our consciousness and at the same time we were brand new parents, and wanted childcare and support who could meet us where we were as a family.
Aila was rather fierce with us, showing us up front both her rare experience, high standards for herself, and direct communication.
We felt impressed and slightly intimidated.
We worked together for almost a year after that point, stopping only because we moved away. During that time, Aila deeply saw Kanai. She heard him, communicated with him, respected him, and was deeply interested in what interested him.
While working with Aila, we had five other nannies rotating through part time - and while everyone was special and wonderful in their own way, Aila was the only one who treated her time with Kanai like education. Even at his young age, she saw opportunities to build on his interests to give him more of life, more of what satisfied him, and more of what helped him grow.
Kanai is one of the most intellectually and physically advanced children I’ve met, and while some of it may be bias, or genetics, I attribute a huge portion of his speed in learning to his time with Aila, where he knew he would be seen, challenged, met, listened to, and honored.
Aila saw Kanai as a whole person, with unique skills and things to communicate, well before he could walk or talk. It looked like telepathy at first - and we do believe in that sort of thing, especially at that age. And as we learned more from her, we also saw the simplicity of her observation in the context of decades of experience. She simply respected him enough to see value and meaning in his gestures, attention, and exploration. I think this one thing changed all our lives forever.
She helped us make decisions as parents about what toys to buy, how to organize our home to keep him safe, and helped us anticipate challenges when we took on new projects. She is unusually self aware, self reflective, and direct in her communication. We had a very strong relationship with her because we knew we could trust her to tell us the truth.
Aila loved Kanai, and he loved her. I think she will always be an incredibly special and important relationship for him because she was his first teacher. Guided by his curiosity, sensitive to his preverbal communication, she showed up for school and gave him instruction to meet him exactly where he was and take him somewhere new. He is confident, believes in his ideas and has rare resilience because someone knew how to honor him in that way in his formative months.
Aila is deeply devoted to children. Her mission to serve them is profound and an essential ingredient in the healing of our world. She is deeply joyful - and every child I’ve seen her with has lit up under her attuned gaze. She is rare, and we are so grateful we had the blessing to work with her.
- Sri & Jesse, Sedona, AZ August 2023
Parents
Braydon
Paula is one of those rare individuals who is extremely "in tune" with highly sensitive kids. She understands how they are uniquely wired and her compassion and empathy is second to none. That's why our son loves spending time with her while we are in Sedona. I've learned so much about my son through her services, and it's helped me to understand, support, and love my son better. I would highly recommend Paula to anyone who's looking for tools to support their kids better.
~ Oliver N.
Laguna Beach, CA, USA 2019
Parent
Ella
We had the pleasure of having Paula for our 1 1/2 year old daughter.
Paula immediately focused on building rapport with her. Every time I saw them, they were deeply engaged in some
activity or 'conversation' - even though my daughter wasn't able to speak a lot of words. Paula was very aware of what was going on with our daughter both emotionally and energetically. She was able to come up with a wide range of ways to support her.
We are unlikely to be able to find another quite like Paula anywhere else, and it's going to be challenging to try to compare
others to her. Our daughter still asks about her.
~ Brian W.
Paula was an absolute blessing for our family. She cared for our daughter 18 to 20 months. She was attentive, thoughtful and sensitive to our daughter’s needs and my daughter still mentions her often. Paula has a patient, playful and creative spirit that works wonders on that pre-verbal, curious level in children. She’s able to notice the non-verbal body language and consistently responds appropriately in ways that stump many people.
From the parent’s perspective, she was excellent with her communications and a joy to have. No question. One of the best!
~ Erin W.
Sedona, AZ, USA 2019
Parents
Ariel
As my Aspie (Asperger) daughter grew into a teen, it became more and more difficult to connect with her. Her overwhelm was so great, she became withdrawn. Isolation, anxiety, frustration and emotional distance ensued. Attempts to regain a connection using traditional methods were futile. It became clear she was spiraling deeper into a life, where it was necessary to disconnect, isolate and shut out the world to survive.
I spent years trying to coerce and manipulate her into participating in life the way I thought was best for her. I tried to break through into her world to convince her to join me in mine. After years of unsuccessfully utilizing numerous mainstream systems like traditional schooling, alternative education, home schooling and personal coaching, sadly I reached a new low and found myself without hope for my daughter's future. I felt a sense of doom and helplessness, believing struggle, resistance and pain would be inevitable for my daughter as she moved through the world trying to cope with the burdens of Asperger's, social anxiety and depression.
Without using any structured methodologies that were obvious, Paula was able to magically enter my daughter's world and effortlessly connect with her. What she did or how she did it, I don't even know, nor do I care. All I know is that after a couple of sessions with Paula, my child was returned back to me. Observing Paula at work, it appeared as if only a dialogue was taking place, but the truth is, there were sparks of magic swirling around them as they talked and connected. Those magical sparks manifested as genuine connection, deep sensitivity, a listening, patient and caring ear, generous affirmation, and gentle guidance. As a result of spending time with Paula, without being prompted, Ariel began to engage with life and with me once more. All of a sudden, she seemed to mature and progress in ways that had not been evident for many years. As a bonus, it was not possible for her to hide her new found delight and contentment. In a way that I had not ever been able to do, Paula was able to use her natural intuition to connect with Ariel's deeper emotional needs and meet them in a satisfying and transformative way.
Allowing Paula to work with my child was not only a wonderful decision that benefitted my child, but it was also one of the greatest gifts I've given to myself because we are closer than ever.
To say I highly recommend Paula, is an understatement"
~ Bela B.
Victoria, Australia 2016
Parent
We met Aila when our first and only child Kanai was 6 months old. We have high values around our mindset, our culture, and having an embodied experience of life. We were advanced in our consciousness and at the same time we were brand new parents, and wanted childcare and support who could meet us where we were as a family.
Aila was rather fierce with us, showing us up front both her rare experience, high standards for herself, and direct communication.
We felt impressed and slightly intimidated.
We worked together for almost a year after that point, stopping only because we moved away. During that time, Aila deeply saw Kanai. She heard him, communicated with him, respected him, and was deeply interested in what interested him.
While working with Aila, we had five other nannies rotating through part time - and while everyone was special and wonderful in their own way, Aila was the only one who treated her time with Kanai like education. Even at his young age, she saw opportunities to build on his interests to give him more of life, more of what satisfied him, and more of what helped him grow.
Kanai is one of the most intellectually and physically advanced children I’ve met, and while some of it may be bias, or genetics, I attribute a huge portion of his speed in learning to his time with Aila, where he knew he would be seen, challenged, met, listened to, and honored.
Aila saw Kanai as a whole person, with unique skills and things to communicate, well before he could walk or talk. It looked like telepathy at first - and we do believe in that sort of thing, especially at that age. And as we learned more from her, we also saw the simplicity of her observation in the context of decades of experience. She simply respected him enough to see value and meaning in his gestures, attention, and exploration. I think this one thing changed all our lives forever.
She helped us make decisions as parents about what toys to buy, how to organize our home to keep him safe, and helped us anticipate challenges when we took on new projects. She is unusually self aware, self reflective, and direct in her communication. We had a very strong relationship with her because we knew we could trust her to tell us the truth.
Aila loved Kanai, and he loved her. I think she will always be an incredibly special and important relationship for him because she was his first teacher. Guided by his curiosity, sensitive to his preverbal communication, she showed up for school and gave him instruction to meet him exactly where he was and take him somewhere new. He is confident, believes in his ideas and has rare resilience because someone knew how to honor him in that way in his formative months.
Aila is deeply devoted to children. Her mission to serve them is profound and an essential ingredient in the healing of our world. She is deeply joyful - and every child I’ve seen her with has lit up under her attuned gaze. She is rare, and we are so grateful we had the blessing to work with her.
- Sri & Jesse, Sedona, AZ August 2023
Parents
Braydon
Paula is one of those rare individuals who is extremely "in tune" with highly sensitive kids. She understands how they are uniquely wired and her compassion and empathy is second to none. That's why our son loves spending time with her while we are in Sedona. I've learned so much about my son through her services, and it's helped me to understand, support, and love my son better. I would highly recommend Paula to anyone who's looking for tools to support their kids better.
~ Oliver N.
Laguna Beach, CA, USA 2019
Parent
Ella
We had the pleasure of having Paula for our 1 1/2 year old daughter.
Paula immediately focused on building rapport with her. Every time I saw them, they were deeply engaged in some
activity or 'conversation' - even though my daughter wasn't able to speak a lot of words. Paula was very aware of what was going on with our daughter both emotionally and energetically. She was able to come up with a wide range of ways to support her.
We are unlikely to be able to find another quite like Paula anywhere else, and it's going to be challenging to try to compare
others to her. Our daughter still asks about her.
~ Brian W.
Paula was an absolute blessing for our family. She cared for our daughter 18 to 20 months. She was attentive, thoughtful and sensitive to our daughter’s needs and my daughter still mentions her often. Paula has a patient, playful and creative spirit that works wonders on that pre-verbal, curious level in children. She’s able to notice the non-verbal body language and consistently responds appropriately in ways that stump many people.
From the parent’s perspective, she was excellent with her communications and a joy to have. No question. One of the best!
~ Erin W.
Sedona, AZ, USA 2019
Parents
Ariel
As my Aspie (Asperger) daughter grew into a teen, it became more and more difficult to connect with her. Her overwhelm was so great, she became withdrawn. Isolation, anxiety, frustration and emotional distance ensued. Attempts to regain a connection using traditional methods were futile. It became clear she was spiraling deeper into a life, where it was necessary to disconnect, isolate and shut out the world to survive.
I spent years trying to coerce and manipulate her into participating in life the way I thought was best for her. I tried to break through into her world to convince her to join me in mine. After years of unsuccessfully utilizing numerous mainstream systems like traditional schooling, alternative education, home schooling and personal coaching, sadly I reached a new low and found myself without hope for my daughter's future. I felt a sense of doom and helplessness, believing struggle, resistance and pain would be inevitable for my daughter as she moved through the world trying to cope with the burdens of Asperger's, social anxiety and depression.
Without using any structured methodologies that were obvious, Paula was able to magically enter my daughter's world and effortlessly connect with her. What she did or how she did it, I don't even know, nor do I care. All I know is that after a couple of sessions with Paula, my child was returned back to me. Observing Paula at work, it appeared as if only a dialogue was taking place, but the truth is, there were sparks of magic swirling around them as they talked and connected. Those magical sparks manifested as genuine connection, deep sensitivity, a listening, patient and caring ear, generous affirmation, and gentle guidance. As a result of spending time with Paula, without being prompted, Ariel began to engage with life and with me once more. All of a sudden, she seemed to mature and progress in ways that had not been evident for many years. As a bonus, it was not possible for her to hide her new found delight and contentment. In a way that I had not ever been able to do, Paula was able to use her natural intuition to connect with Ariel's deeper emotional needs and meet them in a satisfying and transformative way.
Allowing Paula to work with my child was not only a wonderful decision that benefitted my child, but it was also one of the greatest gifts I've given to myself because we are closer than ever.
To say I highly recommend Paula, is an understatement"
~ Bela B.
Victoria, Australia 2016
Parent
Lindsay
Dearest Love,
Who you are and our interaction has allowed me to understand previously unexplainable things that used to cause me terror and now create inner peace. Thank you for allowing me to see more of who I am and to realize that I can love myself more and recognize my abilities. I think there are other kids who need this as well. You are the light and love of the world.
Rainbow and stars
~ Lindsay R. Allison
Toronto, Canada 2017
26 year Human
Universal Cosmic Messenger, Sacred Twin
Lindsay
Dearest Love,
Who you are and our interaction has allowed me to understand previously unexplainable things that used to cause me terror and now create inner peace. Thank you for allowing me to see more of who I am and to realize that I can love myself more and recognize my abilities. I think there are other kids who need this as well. You are the light and love of the world.
Rainbow and stars
~ Lindsay R. Allison
Toronto, Canada 2017
26 year Human
Universal Cosmic Messenger, Sacred Twin
Meg
I observed the results of Paula working with a student I had known for several years. She helped him develop a better understanding of both his strengths and challenges that led to increased motivation for the difficult work of learning. Both his attitude and his test scores showed dramatic improvement.
Children with academic challenges (such as dyslexia) often develop behaviors to compensate for or camouflage their lack of success in school. Paula approaches a child with a whole child philosophy. She helps the child work through conflicting concerns as she teaches skills for behavioral success.
~ Meg Evans
Bainbridge Island, WA 2015
Special Education Teacher
Jean Marie
Paula is wonderful with children and our family loved how knowledgeable, warm and flexible she was to what our son needed as he was learning and developing. Her key strength is the love she has for developing children, seeing their unique qualities and the way she incorporates play into teaching children. Our son has developed a lot with the help of Paula and is thriving in school and life.
She has been part of our family and seamlessly worked in partnership with us.
We highly recommend Paula and we will miss her as part of our family as we move abroad.
~ Jean Marie Shields
Sweden 2012
Parent
Paula is wonderful with children and our family loved how knowledgeable, warm and flexible she was to what our son needed as he was learning and developing. Her key strength is the love she has for developing children, seeing their unique qualities and the way she incorporates play into teaching children. Our son has developed a lot with the help of Paula and is thriving in school and life.
She has been part of our family and seamlessly worked in partnership with us.
We highly recommend Paula and we will miss her as part of our family as we move abroad.
~ Jean Marie Shields
Sweden 2012
Parent
Susan
I had the good fortune to work with Paula for two years at the Desert Star Community School in Cornville, AZ
I viewed Paula as both a loyal colleague and a friend. She supported me during difficult times and she wasn’t afraid to risk her position to support me. I had total confidence in Paula’s ability to maintain confidentiality regarding people and events. I often looked to Paula for advice as she had a keen perception for what was going on through out the organization and has a keen awareness of how people function. She was firm yet loving with the students. Teachers felt comfortable asking her for help, knowing that she would respond to their needs. Paula handled parents with calm and grace, often diffusing upset by listening to them and responding in an empathic way. Her calm was a positive influence on the parents.
I highly recommend Paula.
~ Susan Simon
Sedona, AZ 2010
School Principal