Del Mar Center for Behavioral Health

05/29/2026

Here’s our third use of the tiny dinos this week! First, they were in ice cubes for water play, then in rice, and now in Baff! The repeated exposures helps make it feel safer / more comfortable to explore for kids which sets the stage to be able to mix up some of the other things like the other material in with the dinos!

05/28/2026

The adults who disappear, go silent, or completely freeze when life gets heavy were often the children who were praised for being exclusively cheerful and convenient. We place a massive premium on a child who is always smiling and easy to manage, subtly signaling that their darker, messy moods are too uncomfortable to exist in the house.

When a child learns to mask their unease just to keep the room pleasant, they lose the language for their own internal world. They learn to view distress as a malfunction, growing into adults who view any emotional weight as a threat to their survival.

Changing this trajectory happens right in the middle of a hard afternoon. It means staying in the room when they are angry, jealous, or grieving, and allowing them to actually speak those words aloud without rushing to correct their perspective. When you can handle the weight of their discomfort without trying to shut it down, you show them that their inner life isn't a crime.

A child who is allowed to practice the vocabulary of their own pain doesn't need to hide from it. They grow up solid enough to face the full spectrum of being human, keeping their heart open and steady even when the world inevitably gets incredibly complicated. ❤️

Image Quote Credit: Estefania ❣️

05/27/2026

We are one week out from Live Your Life Day!
Join us on June 3!

05/26/2026

Folks seemed to like the dinos in ice cubes set up from Friday so here’s how we changed it up a bit today!

05/25/2026

05/25/2026

Trauma-Informed Insight: Repair After Rupture

After a hard moment, a child may need help finding their way back to connection.

Repair helps a child feel safe enough to reconnect, reflect, and move forward.

Hard moments happen.
Healing happens in the return to connection.

05/24/2026

Children with autism are three times more likely to experience constipation than the general population and current treatments don’t always work well for them.

For Nova and her mom, finding answers wasn’t easy. Now, their story is helping bring attention to a hidden challenge many children like her face.

They are why Duke Health and UNC Health are teaming up on a $12.9M national study to find better treatment options. This research highlights the power of our NC Children's partnership to bring hope to families across North Carolina and beyond.

https://www.wral.com/lifestyles/health/gi-struggles-children-with-autism-unc-health-duke-study-may-2026/

Duke Children's | Duke University School of Medicine

05/23/2026

A quick peek into low prep activity from this week! Dinosaurs 🦕 🦖 frozen in ice cube trays!

05/23/2026

Questions are demands. They require effort. This is true for all humans. Do we really need to ask that? If yes, ask away! Make sure to consider context, taking the other person into account. If it’s not necessary from that person at that time, is there another way to get what you’re seeking, like connection or information?

Some kids LOVE answering questions and chatting.

For other kids, especially those with delayed/difficulty with communication, being asked tons of questions is overwhelming.

Notice a child becoming overwhelmed by, ignoring, or uncomfortable with questions? That’s okay! You can model the language or make comments instead! This gives kids a low-pressure opportunity to learn communication skills, make connections, and speak if they are able/want to.

05/21/2026

Regulation is critical! Co-regulation develops before self-regulation!

If your child “can’t calm down”, it’s not because they won’t… it’s because they can’t do it alone yet.

We often expect children to self-regulate before they’ve had enough co-regulation.

But self-regulation doesn’t come first.

It grows from being soothed, supported, and guided by a calm adult over and over again. Every time you stay steady in their storm, you are quite literally building the brain pathways they’ll use one day to calm themselves.

So when your child is overwhelmed, melting down, or struggling to cope… that’s not the moment to step back.

That’s the moment to step in.

Because co-regulation isn’t a crutch — it’s the foundation.

And over time, with enough of it, your child won’t need you in the same way… because they’ll carry your calm inside them.

If this resonates, this is exactly what I support inside my emotional regulation toolkits - link in comments below ⬇️ or via Linktree Shop in Bio.

05/20/2026

Swimming lessons are an important part of autism safety. 💦🛟

Many children and adults with autism are drawn to water, and wandering can become dangerous very quickly. Pools, ponds, lakes, creeks, canals, fountains, retention basins, and nearby bodies of water should always be checked immediately if someone is missing.

Water safety should include layers of protection: close supervision, barriers and locks, alarms, swim instruction, emergency planning, and making sure caregivers, neighbors, and first responders know to search water first.

For families with autism, swim lessons should be individualized and may need to include practice with clothes and shoes on, since emergencies do not always happen during swim time.

Learn more from NAA’s water safety resources. Link in comments.