January Bryer Roberts Counseling and Consulting Services

04/11/2026

Trauma-Informed Insight Series:
The Difference Between Discipline and Punishment

Discipline and punishment are not the same—and the difference matters.

Punishment focuses on control.
Discipline focuses on growth.

Punishment asks: “What rule was broken?”
Discipline asks: “What skill is missing?”

One creates short-term compliance.
The other builds long-term change.

If we want better behavior, we can’t just react—we have to teach.

Because behavior is communication… and every response is a lesson.

11/07/2025

10/26/2025

👂 How does early middle ear disease affect a child’s reflexes, balance, and brain development?

Join the Masgutova Foundation for a Special Live Guest Speaker Event:

The Effects of Recurrent Middle Ear Disease on Reflex Integration & Development
with Dr. Leah Light, Au.D., Founder & Director of the Brainchild Institute

🗓 Monday, November 10, 2025
🕖 7:00 PM – 9:00 PM EDT
$25 – Includes 7-day replay access to watch on your schedule

All proceeds go towards NeuroReflex Integration Education and Research

Recurrent middle ear fluid in children can do more than affect hearing — it can disrupt the vestibular and sensory systems responsible for movement, coordination, and early reflex development.

In this insightful session, Dr. Leah Light will share her 30+ years of experience in neurodevelopment, neuroplasticity, and auditory processing to help professionals and parents:

🔹 Understand how middle ear congestion impacts reflex integration and sensory-motor development.

🔹 Recognize signs that signal the need for audiology or ENT referral to prevent long-term effects.

🔹 Review real-life case examples that illustrate how middle ear congestion can affect early movement and development — and why timely recognition is essential.

Ideal for therapists, educators, and medical professionals looking to better understand the connection between auditory health and developmental milestones.

🎟️ Register now at the Masgutova Foundation website or the link in the comments.

03/31/2025

A must-read written by my friend and colleague Dr. Odelya Gertel Kraybill. Here's a link to the article: https://bit.ly/3XE4L68 Please read and share! Expressive Trauma Integration - Dr. Odelya Gertel Kraybill https://www.instagram.com/p/DH3K2hOM0am/?igsh=MTBvYW13YTZkMW5wZw==

02/08/2025

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=b8UHATuy5IA
Simple is Profound.

Introduction to the Masgutova Method, and MNRI.

08/18/2022

Great article on the importance of setting healthy limits for our kiddos. It can be really really tough at times to hold the line, but in doing so we promote a kid's sense of safety and security.

Setting limits for kids can be tricky but they are very important. Some of us set too many limits and some of us struggle to set enough.

08/03/2022

08/03/2022

Time for a Level UP!

Someone brought up the concept of empathy in a school-based training recently. It reminded Amy of this quote (the original) that we keep seeing floating about in social media feeds. Brené Brown is insightful and a truth speaker.

Reading the quote we were stuck that it is only the starting place. Yes, we definitely agree that, "In order to empathize with someone's experience you must be willing to believe them as they see it, not how you imagine their experience to be."

But, there is so much more than empathy that is necessary when honoring lived experience, forming trusting relationships, and providing authentic and validating support. So, we decided to build on Brené's foundation and Level UP!

"In order to honor someone's lived experience you must accept that their experiences ARE different than you might imagine them to be based upon your own experiences. Once we acknowledge that different brains perceive things differently and become curious about how our students experience the world then we can:
*start to provide validating and useful support,
*become semi-predictable,
*become trusted partners"

Image description 2 square slides side by side on the left is Brene's original quote. On the right is our quote / Leveled UP! thoughts on the concept.

06/05/2022

There are many types of online video gamers. Some people might be surprised to learn that there is more than one type of gamer. Different playing styles exist, and each has their own quirks and preferences. In this post, we will explore the different types of online gamers. We will discuss who they....

05/25/2022

Our hearts are broken over the tragedy in Texas. To the parents, families, caregivers, and teachers, worried and wondering today as you send children to school or welcome them into classrooms and into your care: we see the heaviness you carry and the strength it takes to move forward on a day like today. You may be wondering how to talk to children in the wake of this tragedy, so we want to reshare a resource for talking with children about difficult news. In addition to the resource that you can download (Resource = http://ow.ly/UzNj50Jhf5r), here are some thoughts for navigating these conversations:

- Limit children’s news intake as much as you can, and protect yourself as you take in news.

- Before you share information, ask children what they have heard and what questions they have.

- Give children honest answers to their questions, but know it is appropriate to only share basic information and not offer detail beyond what they ask. With incredibly heavy news, young children especially may have very specific and personal questions that you can answer to help them feel safe.

- Sharing your own feelings can help children understand that their feelings are okay, and that they are not alone in the hard feelings.

- Remind children often that you and the other loving adults in their life are there to keep them safe, and always there when they are feeling sad or afraid.

05/24/2022

I've interviewed a lot of autistic women, and nearly all of them were diagnosed as autistic in adolescence or adulthood. The common thread of their stories was this: they thought something was wrong with them. They thought they were weird or bad or that everything just didn't seem to work right for them. And when they found out they were autistic, they learned to accept themselves and to connect with their community and to celebrate their strengths.

The takeaways are these:
⭐ Diagnostic criteria needs to move beyond what autism looks like in cis white boys to include the experience of women and non-binary people, as well as BIPOC folks.

⭐ Autistic kids need to know they are autistic, that it's okay to be autistic, and that there are plenty of other autistic people out there who they can connect with.

So what does this mean for us? We can learn about what autism looks like in women and non-binary people. We can encourage parents to teach their autistic kids about autism. And we can continue to provide peer education and support for ALL kids to understand neurodiversity. When we teach a whole community about social supports and neurodiversity and we unmask autism, we are not just supporting our diagnosed autistic clients, but also all of those who may not yet understand their full identities.

What autistic women or non-binary folks do you follow on social media? We're loving Nigh.functioning.Autism, Rachel Dorsey: Autistic SLP, LLC, The Autistic OT, and Lydia X. Z. Brown - Autistic Hoya just to name a few!

ID: One slide with a yellow border on the top and bottom. On the left there is an image of nine faces of varying races and hair lengths and styles.