Calm Connection Parenting | Neurodivergent, Meltdowns, Emotional Regulation, DMDD, Tantrums, SPD, Defiance, Angry Behaviors

How do you know when your child needs more support at school… and what do you do next?
If your child is struggling with ADHD, emotional dysregulation, anxiety, executive functioning challenges, school refusal, shutdowns, overwhelm, or after-school meltdowns, navigating IEPs and 504 plans can feel confusing and intimidating.
In this episode of the Calm Connection Parenting Podcast, I’m joined by Elyse Scheeler, a licensed speech-language pathologist who has served on IEP teams for over 12 years. Together, we discuss what parents need to know about school support, how emotionally intense and neurodivergent kids are often misunderstood, and how to advocate for your child with more clarity and confidence.
 In this episode, we discuss:
• The difference between an IEP and a 504 plan
 • Signs your child may need additional support at school
 • What to do when the school says your child is “doing fine” but you know they’re struggling
 • What schools may unintentionally overlook in ADHD and emotionally dysregulated kids
 • What parents should begin documenting before meetings
 • How to advocate without feeling like “that parent”
Quick Win:
 Start tracking patterns instead of just behaviors. Notice when your child seems most overwhelmed, emotional, resistant, or exhausted around school. Curiosity often gives us better answers than correction.
Encouragement for Parents:
 You are not overreacting by asking questions. Advocacy begins with understanding.
 CalmConnectionParent.com/retreat/2026
Send a text and share your thoughts!
Take Your Next Step:  Emotional Forecast Quiz
Visit CalmConnectionParenting.org to become an insider and receive weekly news. Find information about the coaching program (and scholarships), free parenting resources, and how we can connect.
*Disclaimer: This podcast is for educational purposes and is not medical advice. Please consult a qualified professional for individual support.

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Just Believe

Why is your child struggling at school? Learn what may be happening beneath ADHD behaviors, DMDD, emotional dysregulation, school refusal, shutdowns, executive functioning challenges, and after-school meltdowns. 
Is your child struggling at school… or is something important being missed?
If your child is melting down after school, refusing homework, shutting down in class, struggling with focus, or constantly being labeled as “lazy,” “defiant,” or “not trying,” this episode is for you.
In this episode of the Calm Connection Parenting Podcast, we’re talking about what may really be happening beneath school struggles, emotional dysregulation, ADHD behaviors, executive functioning challenges, anxiety, sensory overload, and after-school meltdowns.
Because many emotionally intense, neurodivergent, ADHD, and highly sensitive kids are working incredibly hard just to make it through the school day… and the behaviors we see afterward may be the overflow of overwhelm, stress, and nervous system exhaustion.
If you’ve ever wondered:
 “Why does my child fall apart after school?”
 “Why does the teacher say they’re fine, but home is so hard?”
 “Are they refusing… or are they overwhelmed?”
 “Is my child struggling… or is something being missed?”
This episode will help you begin looking beneath the behavior with more clarity and curiosity.
✨ In this episode, we discuss:
• Why emotionally dysregulated or neurodivergent kids often “hold it together” at school and melt down at home
 • The hidden role of anxiety, sensory processing, executive functioning, overwhelm, and emotional exhaustion
 • Why behaviors like refusal, avoidance, distraction, shutdowns, and resistance are often misunderstood
 • The powerful shift from asking “How do I stop this behavior?” to “What is this behavior trying to tell me?”
 • How to become a student of your child and start noticing patterns that matter
 • Why connection and curiosity are essential before correction
 • What parents can begin doing now before pursuing an IEP or 504 plan
Stay tuned for more information about the Calm Connection Mom's Retreat! Be checking CalmConnectionParenting.org and become an insider by signing up for the email updates there!
Send a text and share your thoughts!
Take Your Next Step:  Emotional Forecast Quiz
Visit CalmConnectionParenting.org to become an insider and receive weekly news. Find information about the coaching program (and scholarships), free parenting resources, and how we can connect.
*Disclaimer: This podcast is for educational purposes and is not medical advice. Please consult a qualified professional for individual support.

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Just Believe

Are you feeling overwhelmed, anxious, or stuck in survival mode as a parent?
If you’re parenting a child with big emotions, emotional dysregulation, ADHD, or neurodivergent needs, it can feel like you’re constantly holding everything together on the outside… while quietly running on empty inside.
In this episode of the Calm Connection Parenting Podcast, we’re having an honest and hope-filled conversation about parenting burnout, anxiety, chronic stress, PTSD, and nervous system regulation—and how to begin moving out of survival mode.
You’ll hear from Lori Owens, host of the Practical Solutions for PTSD podcast, who shares practical, faith-rooted tools to help parents calm their nervous system, reduce anxiety, and rebuild a sense of clarity, purpose, and emotional resilience.
If you’ve been feeling stretched thin, weighed down by guilt, or unsure how to care for yourself while caring for your child… this episode is for you.
 
✨ In this episode, you’ll learn:
• Why so many parents struggle with anxiety, burnout, and emotional exhaustion without even realizing it
• How setting boundaries can reduce stress, calm anxiety, and prevent overwhelm
• How to release mom guilt while still showing up with intention and accountability
• What it means to use your strengths and personality as a parenting “superpower”
• Why mental health struggles are NOT “just in your head”—and why that belief can be harmful
• A simple, practical step to begin calming your nervous system this week
 
💛 If you’ve been feeling…
• constantly overwhelmed or on edge
 • emotionally drained or exhausted
 • stuck in survival mode
 • unsure how to care for yourself while caring for your child
You are not alone… and there is a path forward.
 
🌿 Ready for deeper support?
Join us inside: Bold Emotions Big Hearts: Understanding and Advocating for Your Uniquely Wired Child---Workshop this Thursday at 10am MST
Register today at CalmConnectionParent.com/workshop
Send a text and share your thoughts!
Take Your Next Step:  Emotional Forecast Quiz
Visit CalmConnectionParenting.org to become an insider and receive weekly news. Find information about the coaching program (and scholarships), free parenting resources, and how we can connect.
*Disclaimer: This podcast is for educational purposes and is not medical advice. Please consult a qualified professional for individual support.

Happy and Joyful Children by Free Music • Happy Children Background Music / Joyful U... Creative Commons — Attribution 3.0 Unported — CC BY 3.0 Free Download / Stream: https://www.audiolibrary.com.co/free-... Music promoted by Audio Library • Happy and Joyful Children – Free Music (No... ––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––
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Just Believe

Is your home adding to your stress?
When you are parenting a child with big emotions, neurodivergent needs, or constant unpredictability, clutter and disorganization can quietly add to the overwhelm you are already carrying.
In this episode, I’m joined by Megan Gervais of Bee Organized Northern Colorado for a conversation about how your environment affects your mood, nervous system, and capacity as a parent. We talk about the connection between clutter and emotional overwhelm, why organizing can feel so vulnerable, and how creating calm in your space can support more peace in your home.
If your bedroom, pantry, laundry room, or other everyday spaces have started to feel heavy, chaotic, or overstimulating, this episode will encourage you and give you a fresh way to think about what is possible.
In this episode, we cover:
 how clutter can increase stress and overstimulation 
 why your home environment affects your nervous system 
 the connection between trauma, life transitions, and disorganization 
 how professional organizing can create customized, sustainable systems 
 where to start when your whole house feels overwhelming 
 why creating calm in one space can make a bigger difference than you think 
This is a practical, encouraging episode for moms who feel buried by the emotional load of parenting and want one area they can begin to change.

Register for the FREE Parenting Summit! 

Resources mentioned:
Bee Organized Northern Colorado
https://www.facebook.com/beeorganizednoco/

Send a text and share your thoughts!
Take Your Next Step:  Emotional Forecast Quiz
Visit CalmConnectionParenting.org to become an insider and receive weekly news. Find information about the coaching program (and scholarships), free parenting resources, and how we can connect.
*Disclaimer: This podcast is for educational purposes and is not medical advice. Please consult a qualified professional for individual support.

Happy and Joyful Children by Free Music • Happy Children Background Music / Joyful U... Creative Commons — Attribution 3.0 Unported — CC BY 3.0 Free Download / Stream: https://www.audiolibrary.com.co/free-... Music promoted by Audio Library • Happy and Joyful Children – Free Music (No... ––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––
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Just Believe

How to stay calm during your child’s meltdowns. Learn nervous system regulation tools for parents of emotionally dysregulated or ADHD kids—and what actually helps.
 How DO you stay calm when your child is melting down… and everything in you wants to react?
If you’re parenting a child with emotional dysregulation, meltdowns, ADHD, or intense emotional reactions, you already know…
It’s not just your child who feels overwhelmed in those moments. You do too.
In this episode of the Calm Connection Parenting Podcast, we’re diving into one of the most important (and often overlooked) pieces of parenting emotionally intense kids- your nervous system.
✨ In this episode, you’ll learn:
• The difference between stressors and triggers and why both impact your parenting
• Why it’s so hard to stay calm during your child’s meltdowns (and what’s actually happening in your nervous system)
• Simple, practical ways to begin regulating your own responses in the moment
• Why your child needs to “borrow your calm” and how that shapes their emotional regulation
You’ll hear from Hunter Clarke-Fields, mindfulness mentor and author of Raising Good Humans, as she explains why parents get triggered, what’s really happening in the brain during stressful moments, and how to begin shifting from reactive to responsive.
When you understand how to regulate yourself…You change everything for your child.
This episode is part of our Summit Spotlight series, giving you a glimpse into the kind of powerful, practical support available inside:
Calm in the Chaos: Real Tools for Raising an Emotionally Dysregulated or Neurodivergent Child
 Registration is now OPEN
Save your free spot here:
https://link.calmconnectionparent.com/ccp-2026/kirkbride or Visit CalmConnectionParenting.org and find the link in the home page banner.
 And if you found yourself wanting more from this conversation…
You’ll also have the opportunity to unlock the full session library from last year’s summit—including extended sessions from experts like Hunter, Penny Williams, Kirk Martin, and Dr. Roseann.
💛 You don’t have to keep doing this the hard way…
There is a path forward.
Send a text and share your thoughts!
Take Your Next Step:  Emotional Forecast Quiz
Visit CalmConnectionParenting.org to become an insider and receive weekly news. Find information about the coaching program (and scholarships), free parenting resources, and how we can connect.
*Disclaimer: This podcast is for educational purposes and is not medical advice. Please consult a qualified professional for individual support.

Happy and Joyful Children by Free Music • Happy Children Background Music / Joyful U... Creative Commons — Attribution 3.0 Unported — CC BY 3.0 Free Download / Stream: https://www.audiolibrary.com.co/free-... Music promoted by Audio Library • Happy and Joyful Children – Free Music (No... ––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––
Music from #InAudio: https://inaudio.org/ 
Just Believe