October 15, 2025

Brain First Parenting: A Calmer Way to Handle Big Behaviors

47 minutes

Supporting the nervous system beats punishing behavior. Here’s how. In this episode of Demystifying PANS/PANDAS, Eileen Devine explains Brain First Parenting: a shift from behavior control to supporting a child’s brain and nervous system with empathy, accommodations, and co-regulation. She shows why parent healing and regulation are essential, why traditional behavior plans often fail kids with neuroimmune/neurobehavioral differences, and how families can build resilience day by day.

-----

It’s not bad behavior—it’s missing brain skills. In this episode of Demystifying PANS/PANDAS, Eileen Devine joins us to explain how what looks like refusal or defiance in kids is often a brain skills gap or a stressed nervous system. Traditional charts, punishments, and rewards usually fail these kids—and exhaust parents.

Instead, she shows how to match expectations to your child’s real abilities, build in supports where skills lag, and use your own calm presence to help them regulate. She also talks about handling unpredictable ‘on/off’ days, the hidden trauma parents carry, and how to stop spiraling about the future. Tune in now to hear practical ways to work with schools, know when an environment isn’t safe, and add small daily habits that build endurance and hope over time.

-----

Eileen Devine is a parent coach, licensed clinical social worker, and mother to a teenager with neurobehavioral differences. After discovering the neurobehavioral model nearly a decade ago, she transformed her approach to parenting—and now helps other families do the same. She specializes in supporting parents of children with challenging behavioral symptoms, teaching a brain-first approach that builds connection, reduces overwhelm, and restores hope at home.

-----

Eileen Devine, LCSW

Website: https://www.eileendevine.com/

Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/eileen.devine_brain.first/?hl=en

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/EileenDevineBrainFirstParenting

Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/show/0yxGMOkvas1wAmojafUWZx

LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/eileen-devine-b05638180/

-----

Nancy O’Hara, MD, MPH, FAAP, FMAPS

Website: ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠https://www.drohara.com⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠

Facebook: ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠https://www.facebook.com/drnancyohara/⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠

Instagram: ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠https://www.instagram.com/nhoharamd/⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠