Most parents want to know: “What do I do when my child is in the middle of a meltdown?” The truth is, by the time your child reaches that stage, there’s not much you can do except keep everyone safe and let the big emotions run their course. But here’s the good news, you can learn to be proactive with your tools and bring lasting change by influencing behaviors instead of controlling them. Reduce and even eliminate meltdowns by teaching skills before the meltdown ever happens.

In this episode, Debra Johnson, pediatric occupational therapist and founder of STEPS for Development, shares why being proactive is the real key to helping kids build self-regulation. You’ll learn:

• Why children can’t reason or “snap out of it” during a meltdown
• How to step into detective mode and spot patterns behind big emotions
• Practical examples of proactive tools you can use before situations escalate
• Why empathy and perspective-taking are the foundation of skill-building
• How consistent, proactive teaching leads to fewer meltdowns over time

If you’ve been stuck in a cycle of reacting to your child’s behavior, this episode will show you a different path with proactive steps to support changing behaviors, not just stopping them.

Is your child “too sensitive,” or do they just have sensory quirks they’ll grow out of? Maybe you’ve heard that sensory diets can fix everything—or that sensory seeking is just ADHD in disguise. In this episode of the STEPS for Development podcast, pediatric occupational therapist Debra Johnson takes on six of the most common myths about sensory processing and sets the record straight.

You’ll learn:

• Why Sensory Processing Disorder isn’t a formal medical diagnosis—but sensory challenges are very real.
• The difference between a “sensory diet” and a true “sensory life.”
• Why kids don’t just outgrow sensory differences
• The wide spectrum of sensory responses—far beyond being “too sensitive.”
• The difference between ADHD and sensory seeking
• Why meltdowns aren’t about “bad behavior” but nervous system overload.

By the end, you’ll have a clearer understanding of what’s fact vs. fiction in the sensory world—and feel more confident in supporting your child with empathy and compassion for sensory processing differences.

Look closer, stay curious, and find out what’s really going on beneath the struggle. Let's dig deeper and find solutions that work!

Last week we talked about the power of focusing on just one challenge at a time—because narrowing your focus allows you to get make progress with specific challenges rather than being overwhelmed by the big issues. In this episode, we take the next step: digging deeper with task analysis. Rooted in Occupational Therapy practice, the process of task analysis helps us by breaking down a challenge into its core parts and uncovering hidden factors impacting participation. Then we can develop stronger hypotheses, and problem-solve more effectively. Using the STEPS for Development (SFD) model and the ESCAPE framework for task analysis, we’ll explore how looking beyond the surface helps you choose better strategies, adapt when things don’t work, and find solutions that actually stick.

Grab your FREE PDF Guide to the STEPS for Development Task Analysis process to help you focus your thoughts and problem solve for solutions that are more likely to be successful.