New Beginnings & Neuro-Awareness
Hi there! How are you? It’s so nice to see you here!
WHAT’S HAPPENING THIS QUARTER:
We’re starting the year off by discussing just what neurodivergence means in 2026, routines & rhythms to create a supportive home environment for your learner & a little spring reset to calm the chaos.
JANUARY 2026
A new year can feel like the perfect time to seek answers, especially if you're beginning to notice that your child thinks, learns, or responds to the world in ways that don’t quite align with what’s considered “typical.” It can be overwhelming but also empowering. While this month often comes with the pressure of new goals, fresh planners & lofty resolutions, throughout January we will be grounding ourselves in understanding. Giving our learners consistency and compassion with sustainable starts, family-centered planning, and rhythms that work for your learner, not against them. We answer questions about neurodiversity and where to begin the the journey feels uncertain. So let’s start at the beginning, together, with clarity, compassion and confidence.
What is Neurodiversity, really, & the Emotional Side of Beginning This Journey
Neurodiversity is not a new “trend”, it has always existed. What’s new is awareness and acceptance. In 2026, understanding neurodiversity means honoring all brains and ways of learning.
What is Neurodiversity?
Neurodiversity is not something new but the level of awareness around neurodiversity certainly is. I’ve noticed more and more as we move into 2026 that it is more than a buzz word. So what exactly is “neurodiversity”?
Neurodiversity is the understanding that all brains work differently and the awareness that because a brain works differently, it does not mean something is “wrong.” Instead it means every brain works differently from the next, experiencing the world around them in their own way.
Many neurodivergent learners are often those diagnosed with (including but not limited to:)
Autism
ADHD/ADD
A Specific Learning Disability (e.g. Dyslexia)
Dyspraxia
Tourette Syndrome
Are you starting out on your journey?
It can be a really emotional time as a parent to transition into supporting your learner in their own unique way. We often times have to shift the expectations we have for our learners and that can be difficult to let go of. But, when we embrace the new understanding that having a different way of learning, processing, thinking and experiencing the world around them isn’t “bad”, it’s just another way, then we release the pressure.
Parenting is hard enough. We have this internal pressure to constantly “get it right” all the time. And if we don’t, then we’re failing. So let’s pause for a moment and think of it this way - you’re here, reading this, because you’re wanting to learn, to support and find out how to help your learner better navigate the word around them. You are here because of how deeply you love and that is what matters. How lucky your learner truly is for that!
COFFEE BREAK COACHING MOMENT:
Modeling Emotional Regulation & Intro to a Sensory Toolkit
Modeling Emotional Regulation
Because our learners experience the world differently than what society expects, our learners also experience regulation differently too.
This can look like (including but certainly not limited to):
Physical Behavior: Aggression (to self or others), Property Destruction, etc.
Verbal Behavior: Yelling, Crying, Cursing, etc.
Refusal: With a task, a reciprocal social response, a transition, etc.
Understanding when these types of behaviors are more likely to happen and knowing what they look like is the first step to finding how to model regulation for your learner.
Here’s some examples of replacement behaviors to model for regulation:
Physical Behavior: If your learner engages in throwing items or using their body to kick or hit another individual when dysregulated, then model a similar response that will provide the same feedback such as punching a pillow, throwing a bouncy ball into the ground, kicking a ball across the yard, etc.
Verbal Behavior: If your learner engages in yelling when dysregulated, then model a similar response that will provide the same feedback such as using a talking voice to say into a microphone using a modeled phrase such as “I need space” or “I need help with ____”
Refusal: If your learner engages in refusal of a task (putting shoes on, sitting down for dinner, etc.) when dysregulated, then consider structuring the transition with prompts and a count down timer as well as breaking down steps into smaller or providing your learner with a phrase they can say or present in a visual form such as “I’m not ready yet” or “I need more time with ___, please.”
Intro to a Sensory Toolkit
A sensory toolkit is a set of items your learner uses regularly to support going from a state of dysregulation to a state of regulation.
They’re tools, not toys.
They’re items provide your learner with a sense of grounding.
Sensory items aren’t complicated and can be as simple as a textured surface they rub, a song they listen to or a pop-it.
When you’re building your sensory toolkit for at home, find a container you can house the items that can be easily transported from space to space but always go back to “base” (their safe space/calming corner.)
Your learner will begin to know where these items are located and grab them as needed. With practice during regulated times and prompting during dysregulated time, it will guide your learner to see the tools benefits in supporting their body and behavior.
Check out this quarter’s FREEBIE featuring a step-by-step for building a sensory toolkit
I am patient, present & capable
of supporting my learner’s unique journey.
Breaking the Myth of “Fixing”
Neurodivergent learners don’t need more discipline, it doesn’t address sensory needs, communication styles or emotional regulation.
Our focus needs to shift to understanding our learner’s brain so we can support them
Neurodiversity isn’t something we need to “cure.”
What a gift it truly is that our brains think differently. How boring would it be if each of our brains thought about the world in the exact. same. way. every. time.
We wouldn’t have the technology available to us, the inventions at our finger tips and the new perspectives.
The differences we share have shaped our world into such beautiful ways.
COFFEE BREAK COACHING MOMENT:
Breaking Down Tasks & Using Strength-Based Language
Using Strength-Based Language
When we use strength-based language it is exactly what is sounds like, we’re choosing to focus on what the learner can do well instead of what they can’t.
I use strength-based language with my learners and my own children to promote positive self-esteem and problem solving by helping them focus on what they can do when faced with a tough moment.
This can look like:
Modeling Self Talk When Faced With A Challenge: “This is hard but I can either try or ask for help.”
When A Behavior Occurred: “Your body was showing me you might need some space. You can ask for space from ____ instead.” or “This feels really important to you. Let’s use one of your strategies first to help us.”
When Talking About School/Academic Tasks: “This part is tricky. It looked like you remembered best when we write steps down. Let’s practice it together.”
Social Situations: “You’re being honest, but let’s think of a kinder way to say that to our friends.”
Transitions: “You have 5 more minutes, I’ll set the timer.” or “Transitions can be tough. Let’s add a reminder next time.”
Breaking Down Tasks
After a long day, our learners come home with a wide variety of tasks to do from homework, to afterschool activities as well as the many tasks they need to accomplish in their daily routines. (I’m tired just thinking about it.)
Sometimes, our learners can look at these tasks and not be sure where to begin - and honestly, it happens to us too.
So what can we do?
Chunk tasks.
This is another way of saying taking a larger task and breaking it down into smaller, more manageable parts that eventually build up to completion of the task.
Here’s an example:
Your learner comes home from the day with the following:
Complete page 134 in spelling workbook
Finish reading for 10 minutes
Then, they need to eat dinner, go to basketball practice, take a bath and go to bed.
First, we’d want to start with the spelling book and you can approach it in a few ways:
You can have your learner complete 1/2 of a page
A problem or two at a time (depending on the type of assignment)
Then take a break.
Alternate between task and break until the task is completed.
Consider using:
A timer to break up the time intervals between working and having a break so they have predictable transitions.
Make breaks be play, movement, music, a story, quiet time, whatever they prefer, until the assignment is completed.
Then you'd move on to the next activity.
You can:
Write down the steps in words
Use a first/ then board of first work then break
A visual schedule, etc.
The funny thing is, when you break a task down into bite size pieces, it suddenly feels achievable and they have more confidence and clarity in what's expected.
Check out this quarter’s FREEBIE with templates for first/then and a visual schedule to support task completion.
Patience & persistence are my superpowers.
Ditching the “Resolution Mindset” & Resetting Family Rhythms Gently
Neurodivergence is not caused by bad parenting, it is neurological.
Neurodivergence is not a reflection of parenting skills.
Compassion and understanding build stronger families.
As parents and caregivers, we all want better for our learners and tend to blame ourselves when it doesn't happen. I watched it with my parents for my sibling and even now I do it too in my own parenting. Neurotypical or neurodivergent learner, we do because we love our learners deeply.
I challenge you (& myself too) to pause, though, to remember, there is so much out of our control at times that we can't possibly control everything. And one of those things being our neurology.
But what we can do, is teach, model and provide strategies & supports that assist our learner in learning essential skills that will help them now and later.
COFFEE BREAK COACHING MOMENT:
Visual Schedules & Social Stories for Outings
Visual Schedules and Morning Checklists
This has saved us. Tremendously. (Especially those mornings where we need to go!)
How you ask:
It’s reduced the amount of verbal prompting I’ve provided my family in the morning.
Eliminated the arguing and pushback.
Given my children ownership in their task completion.
Built their understanding of the task & increased their independence.
Start small and introduce 1 routine at a time using a chaining method that gives your learner a starting point where you can gradually increase steps once you see they’re understanding that step.
I’ve included a morning routine and getting dressed visual schedule in this month’s freebie, so pick the schedule that works best for you!
Social Stories for Outings
Social stories can be long or short.
Their purpose is to walk learners through the steps they will potentially navigate in an upcoming outing.
It'll introduce them to the setting, the people, the duration of the outing and even how to begin and end the outing.
There are examples, language/scripts to use and strategies embedded.
And the visuals paired with the story can make an unknown territory feel more familiar.
It's a powerful tool.
And bonus, if your learner likes to read books!
Throw it in your bag, toss it in the car or put on your kitchen counter so you can read it together before the outing.
Check out this quarter’s FREEBIE with an outing cue card social story example and morning routine visual schedule samples.
Taking time to rest is taking time to love yourself.
Give yourself that same kindness you give to others.
Welcoming Change While Holding Stability:
What To Do When You’re Just Starting Out
Neurodivergent learners can absolutely be taught and nurtured, it’s about using the right supports.
Our learners can struggle with learning new skills but it’s not that they can’t learn. It’s that there are components within the skill they’re learning that need to be taught and could potentially require the learner to step out of their comfort zone.
But to say our learners can’t learn hits a nerve.
If you’re reading this and just starting out on your journey with your family, please know this:
Everyone is capable in learning, and learning at their own unique pace.
Don’t compare.
Don’t rush.
Instead, look closely at what they’re learning and ask the questions of:
What do they know already?
What do they need to know?
Is there another way we can approach this learning?
And celebrate each step your learner moves closer to learning the skill.
There will be regression at times, that happens to everyone. But regression doesn’t mean we stop. Regression means we adjust how we’re approaching the learning and figure out what we can do instead.
COFFEE BREAK COACHING MOMENT:
Evening Routines & Using Positive Reinforcement
Evening Routines
We're currently in a season of change in our house with growing our family once more and Id be lying if it said it hasn't impacted our night time routine. Because it has.
Heres the thing though, when we notice night time is getting out of hand, we fall back to our tried and true anchors to keep us steady when it feels like we're on a boat in the ocean during a hurricane.
Here's our anchors.
Soft music (the same since they were babies) - ocean sounds & crickets from their sound machine
Color lights on their sound machine (purple for evening routine, blue or red for bed - this depends on their age)
Dim lights from a side table lamp or a tap light
A story together
Nightly prayers
Our night time routine can vary based off of who is home, what evening activities we have, etc. But we always fall back to the same sequence, even if some of the steps are adjusted.
Our monthly freebie includes a sample evening routine visual schedule you can use with your learner.
Using Positive Reinforcement
Do you remember that time you were recognized for doing something well as a child at school and getting a little certificate to bring home that was put on your refridgerator?
Or even now and adult hitting a benchmark at work and being recognized at a staff meeting?
Felt good to hear you did something well, huh? And made you feel more motivated to repeat it too.
Our learners are no different. They crave hearing they did something well and being recognized for it.
And no, its not the idea that everyone gets a trophy.
It's the idea that the more attention we draw towards something we see as favorable, the more likely it will continue to happen again.
What your school did with a little certificate and work did by recogniziing you in front of your colleagues is positive reinforcement.
How can we use positive reinforcement at home?
By recognizing what our learners are doing well.
"Wow, you worked so hard on that"
"You put your dish by the sink after dinner, well done!"
"Nice work picking up your toys in the playroom!"
Pair it with a high five, a big smile, a hug and you'll most likely increase your learners likelihood to do that same thing again.
With consistent encouragement, it can turn challenges into stepping stones.
Check out this quarter’s FREEBIE with an evening routine visual to print out today and use tonight!
Rest is essential. You can’t pour from an empty cup.
"There’s no perfect place to begin, just the choice to show up with love and curiosity. You are the steady hand your child needs. And you don’t have to know everything to be enough."
If you’re wondering what to do and want to collaborate on sustainable behavior based strategies you can stir into your day, let’s chat over a coffee break together and refuel over a warm up with small sips of strategy to create a plan!
Make sure you’re following along on Instagram @coffeemugsandclipboards as we bring this quarter’s content all about the holiday season to life!
I hope your day goes as smoothly as you wish and as always,
I’m so glad you stopped by!
