Getting the Root of Behavior

Communication, Not Defiance

• Unmet developmental, sensory, cognitive, and social-emotional needs
• Environmental contributors: schedule, demands, transitions, overstimulation
• Emerging diagnoses (ASD, ADHD, PDA & more)
• Gaps in functional skills
• Behavioral patterns across settings: home, school, community
• Relational dynamics: peers, adults, authority
• Sensory processing challenges and common environmental triggers
• Structured behavior tracking and data collection tools

The Role of the Brain & Nervous System

Trauma, Stress and the Developing Brain

• The impact of chronic dysregulation on learning, participation, and relationships
• Brain pruning in the early teen years: Behavioral implications
• Nervous system states explained through Polyvagal Theory
• Differentiating shutdown, fight/flight, and functional freeze responses
• Recognize how your own nervous system impacts responses to dysregulation
• Supporting executive functioning skills: inhibition, flexibility, planning, and self-monitoring
• Limitations of the research and potential risks

Preventative Interventions

Setting the Stage for Success

• Neurodiversity-affirming, sensory-safe environments
• Daily mindfulness practice to build self-awareness
• 20+ movement strategies for use throughout the day:
  • Heavy work to support emotional regulation
  • Vestibular input to facilitate focus
  • Bilateral coordination tasks to facilitate cognitive flexibility
• Visuals, timers, and cues for transitions and predictability
• Go-to menus of coping tools and regulation strategies
• Point-of-performance coaching to build skills in real time
• Choice, autonomy, and refusal as communication
• Play, humor, and connection
• Use-anywhere tools for emotional literacy
• Consistency across home, school, and therapy settings

Acute Interventions

Responding in the Moment

• Meltdown vs. shutdown vs. escalation
• Crisis response team: Trusted adults, not just available staff
• Cues and precursors to acute behavior
• Verbal de-escalation scripts and visual cues
• Structured exits, alternative escape routes, and break plans
• Elopement, self-harm, or aggression: Safety and regulation as the goal
• Connection during refusal or withdrawal
• “Bounce-Back” systems post-incident to rebuild trust and resilience
• Neuroaffirming incident documentation: No blame-based language

The Human Element in Intervention

• Embedding relational safety as a core strategy
• Co-regulation opportunities
• Consideration of an embodied approach
• Student voice and nervous system signals
• Emotional recovery and re-engagement
• Predictable rituals for repair and reconnection
• Intentional relationship-building

The Neurodiversity Paradigm: A Brief Overview

A way forward through affirming, trauma-informed care

• Neurodivergence, neurodiversity, and the shift toward neurodiversity affirming practice
• The medical model in mental health care: Help or harm?
• PDA and ODD as controversial constructs: Diagnoses or mislabels?
• Diagnostic critiques: Cultural bias, pathologizing autonomy, and misinterpreting trauma

Assessment & Diagnoses

A Trauma-Informed, Neurodiversity-Affirming Approach

• Medical vs. educational diagnosis
• Why labels like ODD and PDA remain debated in clinical practice
• When ODD reflects trauma, unmet needs, or neurodivergence
• PDA and the DSM™: Clinical relevance without formal recognition
• Differentiate PDA and ODD from
  • Autism Spectrum Disorder
  • Conduct Disorder
  • Intermittent Explosive Disorder
  • Disruptive Mood Dysregulation Disorder
• Determine the root cause of behavior:
  • Tantrums vs. meltdowns
  • Elopement, shutdowns, and aggression
  • Self-harm behavior
  • Environmental and relational context

“Behavior Problems” Through a Compassionate Lens

What lies beneath: the discomfort of changing established practices

• Trauma’s impact on brain development and behavior
• The neurology of neurodiversity
• Core principles for clinicians and caregivers:
  • Behavior as communication
  • Curiosity over anger, support over punishment
  • Shift from compliance-based to collaborative care
  • Reframe “defiance” as autonomy, fear, or sensory distress
• Case conceptualization examples

A Fresh Approach to Change the Narrative

Build insight, communication, and attachment

• Communication & Regulation Tools:
  • Educate kids and parents about the brain and neurodivergence
  • Expressing feelings: code words, escape plans, visuals, apps
  • Emotion regulation: butterfly hugs, stomp & roar, mindfulness
  • Movement and sensory strategies: safe spaces, sensory play, body-based tools
  • Routines and sleep: overcome barriers, hygiene plans, predictability across settings
• Strengthen Relationships
  • Regulation, choice, and responsibility; developmentally matched tools
  • Parent-child: child-led play, check-ins, and intentional connection
  • Educator-student: practical tools for authentic engagement
  • Building inclusive, responsive classroom environments
• Creative & Play-Based Interventions
  • Games, non-directive play, and creative outlets for big emotions
  • Research limitations and potential risks of misapplied strategies Risks and limitations of common interventions

Break Through Behavioral Roadblocks

In-the-moment responses to significant behaviors

• Suicide/self-harm statements
• Elopement
• Verbal and physical aggression
• Controlling behaviors
• When systems push back:
  • Navigate families and educators demanding strict discipline plans
  • Reframe resistance from adults who struggle to change

Why Behavior Plans Fail Children 

• Compliance-based systems that silence play and expression  
• Reward/consequence systems that backfire with neurodivergent kids   
• How adult reactions can escalate aggression and shutdowns 

Foundations for Healing Through Play Therapy

• Top strategies based in Coercion Theory to shift power struggles into connection   
• Family Systems approaches to reduce triangulation and chaos   
• Temperament Theory insights to personalize intervention   

The BISON Model: A Framework for Intervention   

• Bio-Emotion Regulation   
  • Tools for heart rate variability tracking (HeartMath®, Mightier)   
  • Interoceptive and somatic play activities for nervous system awareness  
• Individual Play Therapy  
  • Child-centered play therapy activities to build safety and agency  
  • Play therapy based engagement  for nonverbal, shutdown, or explosive kids   
• Successful Communication   
  • Filial play therapy coaching to strengthen parent-child dialogue 
  • Effective command techniques that reduce defiance   
  • Family meeting templates that create consistency without chaos   
  • In-session parent coaching framework   
• Organized Play Therapy  
  • 10+ classroom-ready tools using games like SORRY!®, LEGO®, and origami   
  • Directive play therapy plans to target frustration, rigidity, and problem-solving   
  • Juggling and movement-based regulation activities   
• Nurturing Play Therapy  
  • Filial play therapy structures to empower caregivers   
  • Attachment-building routines for home carryover   
  • Sensory-rich fine-motor play therapy to soothe and regulate 

Clinic-to-Classroom Carryover   

• School scripting examples for classroom communication   
• Regulation visuals and shared behavior tools   
• Reframing “defiance” as distress through play therapy informed strategies 

Real Families, Real Change   

• Case study: “Adam” from intake to transformation   
• Integration of systems therapy, play therapy, and school collaboration   
• Ready-to-use handouts, scripts, and session templates   

Research, Risks, and Rethinking Behaviorism   

• Key limitations of behavior-first approaches   
• Evidence-informed vs. evidence-based debate—what matters most   
• Risk assessment checklists for providers, schools, and families