Your child can't regulate if you can't. Here's what changes when parents do the work first.Jacintha Field (Jay) is a family child counselor, art therapist, and founder of Happy Souls Kids, a global platform helping children ages 5 to 12 manage big emotions through gamified storytelling and real-world role models. She co-founded it with her 11-year-old son. Her approach didn't come from a textbook. It came from surviving 15 years of domestic violence, becoming a solo mom overnight, and learning how to help her own child when the system couldn't.What you'll learn:- Why your nervous system state is the single biggest factor in your child's behavior and progress- What "teach yourself first before you teach your child" looks like in real daily parenting- How to respond when your child triggers you instead of reacting from your own unresolved stress- Art therapy and gamified storytelling tools that help kids ages 5 to 12 handle big emotions- Why the repair after losing your cool matters more than getting it right the first time- What Jay experienced with Mendability's Sensory Enrichment protocols, including what happened when she paused themChapters:01:30 Why your nervous system is the missing piece in your child's progress04:00 Meet Jacintha Field and Happy Souls Kids08:00 Surviving domestic violence and turning pain into purpose16:00 Teach yourself first: Jay's core parenting philosophy24:00 What to do when your child triggers you33:00 Simple morning and evening routines that regulate your nervous system42:00 Jay tries Kim's Sensory Enrichment protocols: the honest result50:00 A message of hope for parents who are still figuring it outResources:Sensory Enrichment for families: mendability.comHappy Souls Kids: happysoulskids.com

Many autistic children struggle with sleeplessness, exhaustion, anxiety, and sensory overload, and parents are often told it’s “just autism.”

But what if some of these struggles are actually signs of pain or immune stress that kids can’t explain?

In this episode, we explore what autism parents can learn from fibromyalgia research—and why those discoveries matter for children who can’t tell us when something hurts.

Our guest is Dr. Bruce S. Gillis, a Harvard-trained physician and medical researcher with more than 40 years of experience studying immune dysfunction, chronic pain, and fibromyalgia.

His work challenges the idea that these symptoms are purely behavioral and offers a biological framework that may help autism families better understand what their children are experiencing.

What you’ll learn

• Why pain in autistic children is often missed or misunderstood

• How fatigue, anxiety, and sensory overload can be signs of physical distress

• What fibromyalgia research reveals about whole-body conditions that affect the brain

• How immune system dysfunction can change sleep, energy, and regulation

• What parents can observe at home when a child can’t say “this hurts”

• Why understanding biology can reduce blame, guilt, and confusion

Chapters

00:00 – When behavior may actually be pain

04:30 – Sleeplessness, fatigue, and overload in autism

11:10 – What fibromyalgia research uncovered

19:40 – The immune system’s role in brain symptoms

28:20 – How parents can spot pain without words

36:10 – What this means for autism families

Resources

• Mendability: https://www.mendability.com

• Dr. Gillis’s work and the FM/a Test: https://www.fmtest.com

If your child struggles to communicate feelings, this episode will show you how colorful capes can become a powerful tool for emotional connection, even in the hardest moments.

Meet Constance Lewis—nurse practitioner, mom of three, and co-author of Miles and the Colorful Capes of Feelings. Inspired by her son’s journey through seizures and brain surgery, she created a color-based system that helps kids show how they feel when words aren’t enough.

What you’ll learn:

• How color-coded capes help children communicate feelings nonverbally

• What to do when your child’s emotions overwhelm you

• Why pushing speech too hard can create emotional distance

• How to reconnect with your child using what they already love

• What to try when your child’s favorite activity is misunderstood or judged

• Where to begin when you feel too burned out to connect

Chapters:

02:06 – Why speech isn’t the only way to connect

05:52 – From NICU nursing to neurodiversity parenting

08:29 – The story behind Miles and the Colorful Capes

16:40 – Color as a nonverbal emotional language

23:19 – How to use what your child loves as a tool

28:41 – Helping nonverbal kids use emotional color cues

32:15 – When parents start to tune out their child’s feelings

36:25 – “Playful, Present, Peaceful”: a parenting approach

40:19 – Where to begin when you’ve lost the connection

44:18 – Embracing behaviors others call ‘weird’

49:35 – Letting go of judgment and showing up anyway

Resources:

• 🧠 Free Guide: The Biggest Mistake to Avoid After an Autism Diagnosis

• 🎨 Guest website: https://www.colorfulcapesoffeelings.com

• 🎁 Explore Sensory Enrichment Therapy: https://www.mendability.com

#autismparenting #colorfulcapes #emotionalregulation

Many parents choose autism clinics carefully, follow the recommendations, and still watch their child fall apart at home.

In this episode, we talk about autism clinic fit. How to recognize when a clinic is supporting real regulation and recovery, and how to tell when it’s quietly overloading your child, even if sessions look “successful.”

Joined by parent advocate and clinic founder Stephanie Fluger, we explore the signs that it’s time to stay, adjust, or walk away. You’ll hear how cumulative demand leads to burnout, why post-session behavior matters more than in-session performance, and how to choose an autism clinic that leaves your child with more capacity for everyday life, not less.

This conversation is for parents who feel something isn’t right and want a clear, guilt-free way forward.

This conversation is for the tired parents who are trying everything, and still feeling stuck.

Our guest is Susie Pettit, certified life and parenting coach and host of The Love Your Life Show. Susie helps moms break generational cycles of codependency and perfectionism so they can raise emotionally healthy kids without losing themselves.

Chapters

00:00 – Welcome and episode preview

01:32 – Susie’s story: breaking free from generational patterns

08:10 – Why trying harder wasn’t working15:45 – Popcorn Parenting explained

24:20 – The trap of overfunctioning and fixing

32:50 – How parents can start simplifying today

41:05 – Final thoughts and where to learn more

Resources

👉 Learn more about Mendability: https://www.mendability.com

👉 Learn more about Susie Pettit: https://smbwell.com

🎁 Get our free guide: How to De-escalate a Meltdown in Seconds without Saying a Word: https://go.mendability.com/start/meltdowns-guide

If someone talked over you, ignored you while you were in the room, or touched you without asking, how would you feel?

Many autistic and non-speaking children experience this every day, even from loving parents who don’t realize the impact.

In this episode, I talk with Hollis Peirce, historian, disability advocate, and creator of 21st Century Disability, about what dignity feels like when you grow up in a body others control.

His experiences offer a direct window into what many of our children go through and how small shifts can change everything.

• Why talking about your child instead of to them erodes trust
• How asking permission before touch increases cooperation and regulation
• What “feeling invisible” looks like from the inside
• How to use eye-level communication to build safety
• Why touch, tone, and presence change a child’s brain chemistry
• How to preserve your child’s dignity even in stressful moments

Chapters:

02:10 – Meet Hollis Peirce
07:00 – The childhood experiences that shaped his advocacy
14:00 – When adults talk over a child in the same room
16:55 – Coaching a parent on how to protect their child’s agency
23:30 – The emotional impact of being handled without permission
27:30 – Why asking before touching your child matters
32:33 – Seeing your child’s world from eye level
41:51 – Loneliness from lack of human touch
45:59 – How touch affects brain chemistry
49:00 – Sensory processing differences in autistic children
52:00 – Helping your child feel seen and safe
53:58 – Final takeaway for parents

Mendability (Sensory Enrichment Therapy): https://www.mendability.com

#autismparenting #sensoryenrichment #respectfulparenting

When a new challenging behavior appears—spitting food, slamming doors, panicking at noise—most parents ask the same thing: “Is there an exercise for this?”

In this episode, Claudie and Kent unpack why that question is more powerful than it seems… and why the real solution rarely looks like what you’d expect.

What you’ll learn

- How to tell when a behavior is stress, anxiety, or simple exploration

- Why some children suddenly fixate on sounds, lights, or repetitive actions

- What to look for when your child reacts to noise, crowds, or outings

- Small sensory moments that help the brain settle (without adding work)

- How to support calmer evenings and better sleep

- What parents often miss when trying to solve “that one annoying behavior”

Chapters

00:00 – Why parents ask “Do you have an exercise for that?”

03:10 – What small behaviors are really telling you

08:40 – How the brain handles overwhelm

15:55 – Calming routines that fit into daily life

23:20 – Hidden triggers you may not realize are stressing your child

30:05 – When sleep gets worse and what to do

39:45 – Music and sound routines that actually help

45:50 – Final encouragement for parents

Resources

Learn more: https://www.mendability.com

Free guides for parents: https://go.mendability.com/start/meltdowns-guide

#autismparenting #sensoryprocessing #childanxiety #sleephelp #parentingstrategies

In this episode, we explore what emotionally intelligent robots are teaching us about presence, emotional safety, and how to become the parent your child still hopes for—even if they can’t say it.

Guest: Peter Fitzpatrick is the co-founder of FunFriends.com, where he leads the creation of emotionally intelligent social robots designed to support children who struggle to connect. With a background in AI, human-computer interaction, and child development, Peter brings a fresh and deeply compassionate lens to helping children feel understood.

What you’ll learn:
• Why children often speak more to a robot than to their parents
• How presence and delight—not performance—build trust
• What makes children feel emotionally safe enough to open up
• The one daily habit that reconnects you with your child
• How to shift from “life manager” to “emotional companion”
• What this robot does right that parents can learn to model

Chapters
02:15 – Why Peter built an emotionally intelligent robot
10:30 – How children connect with robots when they won’t talk to people
19:50 – Emotional safety and how it changes behavior
29:10 – What parents can learn from the way Fawn interacts
37:45 – The one thing that heals disconnection
43:50 – Parenting, regulation, and real emotional safety
49:10 – Final message: What to do today to reconnect

Learn more at https://www.mendability.com

Free meltdowns guide: http://go.mendability.com/start/meltdowns-guide

Feeling stuck in endless therapy routines?

Discover how a few minutes of sensory-based games can lift moods, calm anxiety, and bring peace back to your home.

This episode is for parents of children with autism, ADHD, or sensory challenges who want real progress, without burnout.

Featuring: Sarah, mom of two children with autism, early childhood educator, and Sensory Enrichment Therapy coach, joins Kim Pomares to share practical ways to use brain-boosting sensory activities at home.

🧠 What You’ll Learn

- How Sensory Enrichment Therapy strengthens brain connections naturally

- Simple dopamine-boosting games you can start today

- The Water Game and why it helps kids focus and self-regulate

- How to adapt routines like bath time and bedtime for calmer days

- Ways to make therapy work better through coaching and family integration

- What kinds of smells and textures have the biggest impact

Chapters

00:00 – Welcome and introduction

02:30 – What is Sensory Enrichment Therapy?

07:40 – How it works in the brain (dopamine and serotonin explained)

12:10 – Game #1: Smell + Touch for mood regulation

18:50 – Game #2: The Water Game and brain coordination

25:40 – Everyday sensory routines (bath, meals, bedtime)

34:00 – Why coaching matters for long-term results

42:30 – Sarah’s story: from burnout to hope

52:00 – Q&A with parents