Safe Before Ready: The Neurodivergent Learner with Dr. Emily King

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Kids have to feel safe before they can learn. Child psychologist and parent educator Dr. Emily King returns to Think Inclusive to talk about her new book, The Neurodivergent Learner: A New Approach to Your Child’s Success in the Classroom and Beyond. It is part brain science and part her own story as a mom, starting with her older son’s hard kindergarten year and ending with his high school graduation.

Emily explains why every classroom is already neurodiverse, why she ignores test scores when families pick a school (she looks at the building, the noise, the transitions, and whether teachers like working there), and how joining her PTA board taught her what parents of neurotypical kids can do for everyone else. She also says we use labels to get kids access to support, but the label should not decide where a child goes.

Then she calls behavior “the last thing that happens” and gives educators a step they can take tomorrow: email every adult who works with a student and ask whether they have ever seen the child do the thing the team is stuck on. We close with Awake Among the Stars, where Emily plays an anxious space botanist who names a volcano planet the amygdala.

Expanded show notes and transcript: https://mcie.org/think-inclusive/safe-before-ready-the-neurodivergent-learner-with-dr-emily-king/

Sponsors:

IXL, the all-in-one K-12 platform that adapts to each student: https://www.ixl.com/inclusive

Behavior 360 from Inclusive Schooling, professional learning that treats behavior as something to understand rather than manage: https://inclusiveschooling.com/mcie-behavior