Description
What if “maladaptive behavior” isn’t a problem to fix, but a message to understand?
In this 90-minute course—“Maladaptive Behavior” in the Classroom: Trauma-Informed Neurodiversity Paradigm Centered Strategies—therapists and teachers will explore what’s really happening beneath student behaviors often labeled as disruptive, defiant, or noncompliant. You’ll learn to look beyond the behavior and consider what’s underneath: trauma, sensory overload, communication differences, or other unmet needs. Rather than relying on behavior plans or compliance-based approaches, this session offers trauma-informed classroom strategies and neurodiversity-affirming classroom strategies that support connection, co-regulation, and true inclusion.
Learn trauma-informed classroom strategies for responding to “maladaptive" behavior.
Whether you’re working with Autistic students, other Neurodivergent learners, or any student frequently labeled as having “maladaptive behavior,” this course will provide actionable tools to improve connection, co-regulation, and meaningful participation—without relying on rewards, punishments, or behavior charts.
Through real-world examples and case studies, you’ll shift from asking “How do I stop this behavior?” to asking “What is this student communicating, and how can I respond with empathy and understanding?”
This professional development course is ideal for speech-language pathologists, occupational therapists, school counselors, school psychologists, and teachers who are ready to rethink classroom “behavior” through a lens of compassion, context, and affirming support.
This neurodiversity training is an in-depth follow-up to Trisha Thompson’s popular course, Embracing Neurodiversity: Autistic Thriving in the Pre-K – Elementary Classroom, expanding the conversation into trauma-informed responses to behavior across all student profiles.
► Featuring: Trisha Thompson
► Enrollees have on-demand access to this course for 180 days from enrollment.
► 90 minutes of Professional Development credit
► Audience: Therapy providers and teachers seeking to enrich their knowledge of respectful, neurodiversity-affirming strategies to address “maladaptive behavior” in the classroom. 🔓🔓🔓 (Therapy Neurodiversity Collective Members, this short course is included in your membership!)
✨ Included:
☑ A comprehensive slide handout
☑ Course handout for reference
☑ Certificate of Attendance for 90 minutes of professional development
Trisha Thompson is a late-diagnosed AuDHD Early Childhood Education Consultant and parent to an autistic child. She has been working in the field of ECE for over 10 years. Prior to becoming a consultant, she worked in various teaching and leadership roles. She has a Maser of Science in General Psychology (non-licensure) and holds a certification in Applied Educational Neuroscience. Trisha is passionate about helping others in the field understand that neurodiversity affirming practice is an integral part of developmentally appropriate, anti-bias, and trauma-informed early childhood education.
