By Heather Weigel, MAT; edited by Mary McKone, Ed.D. Before bed, you remind your teenage daughter that her lunch is in the fridge. The next morning, she leaves without it for the third time this week. "I totally forgot it was in there," she says. Online, this kind of forgetting is often called "object permanence," especially in conversations about ADHD. The experience is real, but the term comes from infant development, where it means knowing that things still exist when we c

By Heather Weigel, MAT; edited by Mary McKone, Ed.D. Have you ever listened to your child tell a story and noticed something you couldn't quite name? Maybe your child knows more about sea creatures than most adults—how octopuses have three hearts or which sharks glow in the dark. But at the aquarium, "octopus" becomes "the... the thing with the arms." "Animal" still comes out as "aminal," and at dinner, spaghetti turns into "pasghetti." In the car, the question "What rhymes w

By Heather Weigel, MAT; edited by Mary McKone, Ed.D. If your child insists Grandma turned into a dragon and flew them to the moon, they aren’t lying or confused. Their imagination is working just as it should at this stage of brain and nervous system development. From about age 2 through the early school years, it’s normal for children to confuse what is made up and what is real—often casting real people in their stories. Understanding why this happens helps you respond confi

By Heather Weigel, MAT; edited by Mary McKone, Ed.D. Your child gets two spelling words wrong out of twenty. Within seconds, they're sobbing on the floor, insisting they're "the worst speller ever" and refusing to try again. Or it could be something smaller—you ask them to try tying their shoes a different way, and they shut down as if you'd yelled, even though your tone stayed calm. From the outside, it may look like an overreaction or unnecessary drama. From the inside, you

By Heather Weigel, MAT; edited by Mary McKone, Ed.D. It's 8 p.m. Your child has followed the same four-step bedtime routine countless times. Yet tonight, step two devolves into a wrestling match, step three is skipped, and by step four, the once-energetic child is in tears, pleading with you to stay, and sounding much younger than their age. Or perhaps your child's bedtime looks different. They stim throughout—rocking, humming, flapping—but follow each step without protest, e

A simplified view of key brain regions discussed in this piece By Heather Weigel, MAT; edited by Mary McKone, Ed.D. Your child lies in bed, ready to say goodnight. You mention something about the next day that you know they won’t like. Suddenly, their body goes rigid, their face reddens, and they complain that the blankets feel twisty and wrong. Moans and agitated sounds fill the room as they struggle to feel comfortable. Their skin feels “too small.” They begin stretching an

By Heather Weigel, MAT; edited by Mary McKone, Ed.D. If your child suddenly seems to regress or change dramatically overnight after an illness, it may signal something more significant than simply recovering from a cold or virus. PANS and PANDAS are immune-driven, neuroinflammatory conditions that can trigger sudden OCD‑like symptoms or sudden food refusal, along with rapid shifts in mood, sleep, movement, and sensory tolerance. Recognizing this pattern early empowers you to

By Heather Weigel, MAT; edited by Mary McKone, Ed.D. Have you ever tried to reverse-engineer a tough day with your child—replaying what they ate, how they slept, or what the weather was like—hoping to find a hidden pattern? You might be onto something. For many neurodivergent children, challenging days often share a common biochemical link: histamine and the immune cells that release it. Often, discussions about neurodivergence focus on behavior, learning strategies, and psyc

By Heather Weigel, MAT; edited by Mary McKone, Ed.D. Research confirms that many autistic speakers differ in voice quality, prosody (rhythm, pitch, stress, volume, and timing), and articulatory precision. Recent studies show that simple acoustic measures can often distinguish autistic children from their peers, echoing what parents already observe. Speech quality rarely hinges on a single factor. Instead, it reflects the entire system working together: early reflexes, sensory

By Heather Weigel, MAT; edited by Mary McKone, Ed.D. Parents of neurodivergent or medically complex children often notice patterns others might overlook, connecting behaviors, symptoms, and subtle changes in their child’s well-being. A child may experience sensory overload, stomach pain, poor body awareness, sleep problems, or a feeling of being floppy, stiff, or tense. While these issues often seem unrelated and are referred to different specialists, they may share an underl

By Heather Weigel; edited by Mary McKone, Ed.D. A child who loses focus while reading, guesses at words, forgets math steps, and melts down during homework is often facing multiple overlapping challenges. Parents see this in daily life: their child starts a reading assignment but gets up repeatedly, forgets what was just read, and skips small words like “the” or “was.” The same child might reverse letters, struggle to sound out words, and avoid reading aloud. In math, they ma

If you’ve ever watched your child working hard with their hands — writing, cutting, building with blocks — and noticed their mouth moving along with the action, you’re not alone. Many parents describe it as “silent talking,” grimacing, or chewing the air while their child is focused on a fine-motor task. It can look unusual, and sometimes adults worry it means something is “wrong” or that a reflex from infancy never went away. In this post, I’ll explain what’s most likely hap

When your child repeats the same movement or ritual, a specific “start–stop–go” loop in the brain is working overtime. This loop connects the front of the brain (the prefrontal cortex), the habit centers deep inside (the basal ganglia), and a relay hub (the thalamus) that sends signals back and forth. Together, these areas help decide which behaviors start moment by moment, which keep going, and which stop. Think of this process as a traffic circle. The prefrontal cortex (PFC

Many parents observe when their child stands too close, leans on others, bumps into people, or appears unsure where their body ends and another’s begins. These behaviors may not be just quirks of youth or “bad habits,” but may reflect how their nervous system is building—or struggling to build—a body map and a sense of personal space. Reflexes are automatic movement patterns that help the nervous system organize survival, movement, and later learning. Primitive reflexes are D

The vagus nerve is a powerful gateway to understanding your own body, and why nervous system care is essential for caregivers, especially those supporting neurodivergent and medically fragile children. It quietly shapes whether you feel wired, shut down, or steady—and it influences everything from your heart rate and digestion to your capacity for patience, presence, and connection. Fortunately, there are practical tools you can use to support your nervous system within the r

The glymphatic system serves as your child’s nighttime “cleanup crew” for the brain and relies heavily on deep, organized sleep to clear out waste. Neurodivergent kids often face higher toxic burdens, increased rates of neuroinflammation, and ongoing sleep challenges, making support for this system fundamental to brain health. Reflex integration work offers a powerful, hands-on approach to help the body and brain fulfill this job. What Is the Glymphatic System? The glymphatic

Why does my child laugh when they’re scared or angry? Why do they smile when they’re overwhelmed, or just before a meltdown? If you’ve ever thought, “They’re laughing, so they must be fine,” only to watch your child fall apart moments later, this newsletter is for you. Big Feelings, Mixed Expressions Many neurodivergent children display incongruent emotional expressions, meaning their outward reactions and facial expressions don’t always match how they feel inside. While this

Many neurodivergent kids are also “bendy” kids. They may experience a combination of very flexible joints, frequent pain, heightened sensory reactions, fatigue, or dizziness. Even though these patterns reflect underlying nervous system and connective tissue differences, they are often misunderstood, minimized, or treated as unrelated concerns. Thankfully, research has begun to connect these dots, revealing that connective tissue differences, neurodivergence, and nervous syste

The vestibular system is far more than a “balance organ.” It is a deep regulator of body position, eye movements, arousal, and closely related cerebellar (in the cerebellum) circuits, which together have a powerful influence on a child’s ability to sit up, stay focused, and manage behavior in everyday life. When this system is under- or over-responsive, attention and learning often suffer alongside balance, posture, and coordination. The vestibular system, located in the inne

One area of concern for most of my clients is their child's poor focus, attention, and learning. Our sensory systems play a huge role in the development of these higher-order cognitive skills, particularly proprioception and vestibular function. Proprioception, vestibular function, the cerebellum, and neuroreflexes collectively support higher-order thinking and school performance. These systems form a tightly interwoven network that underlies postural control, self-regulation