Practical, Evidence-Based Support for Neurodivergent Parents
Clear thinking, practical strategies, and collaborative approaches for complex family situations.
Parenting neurodivergent children often requires a different approach from traditional parenting advice.
At Square Peg Kids, support focuses on understanding what’s driving behaviour, identifying missing skills, and helping parents respond in ways that reduce escalation and protect relationships.
The work is practical, evidence-based, and designed for real-world situations — not idealised parenting scenarios.
How Support Works
Every child and family system is different. Support is therefore tailored, not prescriptive.
Drawing primarily on the Collaborative & Proactive Solutions (CPS) model developed by Dr Ross Greene, the focus is on working with your child to understand difficulties and solve problems collaboratively.
This approach helps parents to:
- Shift from reacting to behaviours to understanding what’s underneath
- Reduce power struggles and repeated escalation
- Solve recurring problems in a structured, respectful way
- Maintain boundaries without relying on rewards or punishments
Why Traditional Parenting Often Doesn't Work
Strategies designed for neurotypical children frequently backfire with neurodivergent children.
Time-outs, sticker charts, sanctions, and reward systems may suppress behaviour temporarily, but they don’t address the underlying cause — and often increase stress for everyone involved.
The guiding principle here is simple:
Children do well if they can.
When a child isn’t coping, the issue is not motivation or defiance, but unmet needs or lagging skills. Support focuses on identifying those gaps and responding in ways that actually help.
The Approach
Support draws on:
- Collaborative & Proactive Solutions (Ross Greene, PhD) — collaborative problem-solving rather than behaviour control
- PACE-informed practice (Dr Dan Hughes) — curiosity, empathy, and relationship safety
- Emotionally-informed parenting (Dr Laura Markham) — reducing conflict without coercion
- Professional experience — over three decades as a teacher, parent, and coach specialising in ADHD and autism
These frameworks are used pragmatically, not ideologically, to help parents make clearer decisions in pressured moments.
Common Challenges Parents Bring
Parents often seek support when they’re dealing with one or more of the following:
- School avoidance, distress, or breakdown
- Ongoing burnout and decision fatigue
- Frequent meltdowns, shutdowns, or explosive behaviour
- Difficulty with daily routines, transitions, and organisation
- Sleep disruption affecting the whole family
- Anxiety, emotional overwhelm, or persistent tension at home
- Navigating school communication, EHCPs, or advocacy decisions
- Feeling unsure what to do next — or which battles matter
Support is designed to help parents move from firefighting to clarity — understanding what’s happening, reducing escalation, and choosing safer, more effective next steps over time.
Whether support is short-term or ongoing, the aim is the same: better understanding, better decisions, and more sustainable family dynamics.
Ongoing 1:1 Coaching
For families who already know they want longer-term support, ongoing coaching is available by conversation rather than package.
This option is not structured as a package and is offered selectively, based on fit and capacity.
Get In Touch
Square Peg Kids
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