Untangling Anger & Shame in Young Children How many times have you heard, “I was NOT mad” when everything you see says the child in front of you is, in fact, roaring mad?  Spitting mad. Throwing shoes mad. Ripping dad’s shirt on the way into therapy mad. My guess is many, many times. That’s where […]

Helping Kids Face Anxiety with Confidence When I first released the book, Hello, Anxiety, someone commented, “I need a book called, Goodbye, Anxiety!” And honestly? I get it.  Anxiety can feel like an avalanche of “what ifs.”  It’s messy and loud and hard to control. Of course we want it gone. But here’s what I’ve learned, both as […]

Have you ever heard the line Behavior is communication? We know that kids’ behavior is telling us something (adults too, for that matter), but it can be ridiculously difficult to figure out what disruptive behavior actually means. Over the last twenty years as a trauma therapist, educator, and mom of neurodiverse kids, I’ve become a […]

Tips for Therapy, Home, and School I came across the work of Marti Smith, OTR when I was still in the therapy office. We developed a friendship across the miles as I was working on Riley the Brave’s Sensational Senses. And when her new book Sensory Healing after Developmental Trauma came out, I scooped it right up! One of the things […]