Rethinking Challenging Behaviors with Dr. Mona Delahooke

In today’s episode Dr. Dan discusses emotional regulation, co-regulation and neurodiversity with Dr. Mona Delahooke and hear her first person account of how her powerful viral blog post about Oppositional Defiance Disorder really struck a nerve with parents.

Dr. Mona Delahooke is a child psychologist, author, speaker, and expert who specializes in early childhood development and early intervention for children with special needs. Her practice, speaking engagements, blog, and new book Social and Emotional Development in Early Intervention all guide, orient, inform and help parents through the journey of raising a child with special needs.   Her passion and focus includes neurodiversity and relationship building between parents and children of all ages, as well as educators and caregivers.   

In the of spirit helping all children Dr. Dan and Dr. Delahooke discuss empathy and compassion and how individual differences lead the way in her work because one size does not fit all.  Dr. Delahooke uses a strength based, family centered, multidisciplinary approach in her work with young children and families. [Her philosophy is informed by the groundbreaking model of child development pioneered by Dr. Stanley Greenspan and Dr. Serena Wieder, known as the DIR® approach (Developmental, Individual-difference, Relationship-based).]

After discussing how deeply crucial it is for children to feel safe when her or she is in stress mode and they end the episode with Dr. Delahooke’s Parent Footprint moment about parenting her two young children and how finally recognizing a stress response in one of her children (rather than intentional volitional behavior) opened her eyes turned her parenting around in a profound way – altering how she practiced and parented forever.