Behaviors aren’t bad… Behaviors are a WINDOW to the BRAIN. If your child is ‘avoidant’ or specific activities… or if they ‘shut down’ when under stress… Pay PARTICULAR attention to what they do under that time of stress. Do they limit visual or auditory input? Do they move around, touch things? Do they have big emotional reactions? Each of these different behaviors are windows into how a child’s brain is functioning. More specifically, how a child responds under stress (or what stress they avoid) tells us what TOOLS they are using to engage with their world. It is NOT ENOUGH to try to avoid triggers or try to CHANGE these behaviors. Rather, it’s important to understand what in our child’s brain is happening – and take developmentally appropriate action to help them better adapt to stressors. We have a monthly workshop on exactly this topic called “unraveling neurodevelopmental disorders” — comment or DM us and we’ll give you the details so you can learn more about your child’s brain and how you can help make adaptation EASIER for them.