The Summit Ranch

01/28/2026

Your kid is smart. You know it. Their teacher knows it.

So why is reading such a fight?

Swipe through for the signs of dyslexia at every age, from preschool through high school. (Save this one.)

If this sounds like your family, diagnosed or not, you're welcome at our free monthly dyslexia support group in Shawnee.

📅 Tuesday, February 10th
🕐 5-6pm
📍 Summit Ranch | 18555 Johnson Drive

Kids do activities together with peers who get it. Parents talk IEPs, tutoring, and what actually helps.

No diagnosis required. Just questions.

Register here: https://summitranch.org/groups

(Sources: Yale Center for Dyslexia & Creativity, International Dyslexia Association)

01/27/2026

Girls on the Run is back at Summit Ranch this spring!

Over 8 weeks, girls meet twice a week for games, group discussions, and movement — building confidence, friendships, and skills that go way beyond running. The season wraps up with a celebratory 5K on May 9th where the whole team crosses the finish line together.
This program isn't about being athletic or fast. It's about learning to do hard things, supporting each other, and having fun while moving your body.

📍 Summit Ranch, 18555 Johnson Dr, Shawnee

📅 Mondays & Wednesdays, 4:45-6pm

👧 3rd-6th grade girls

🗓 Season starts week of March 9th

Early bird pricing: $195 (Feb 1-2 only), then $220
Adjusted fees + full scholarships available — email info@gotrkc.org

Registration opens February 1st. We'll drop the link when it goes live!

01/23/2026

Play is regulation. Even for barn cats.

01/20/2026

"I've told them a hundred times. Why don't they just DO it?"

Here's what's actually happening with working memory and ADHD:

When you tell your kid something at 7am, they hear you. They understand. They might even genuinely intend to do it.

But their brain doesn't encode that information the same way yours does. It may not get "filed" properly in the first place, so by the time they need it, it's not there to retrieve.This isn't "selective hearing." It's a real neurological difference in how information gets processed and stored.

What helps:
→ Visual cues (sticky notes, checklists, pictures)
→ Written reminders in the spot where they'll need them
→ Routine-based triggers (pair the task with something they already do)
→ And yes, lots of grace

They're not ignoring you. Their brain is just wired differently.

And here's the part no one says enough: It's exhausting to repeat yourself. You're not failing. You're parenting a brain that works differently, and that takes more creativity, more patience, and more energy than most people realize.

Save this for the next hard morning. And send it to the co-parent, teacher, or grandparent who needs to hear it too.

01/16/2026

It's 10:47pm. Your kid is still awake. Again.

You've tried the bath, the books, the consistent bedtime, the dark room. You've done everything the articles say to do.

And still...they're staring at the ceiling. Or calling for you. Or suddenly starving.

Here's what I wish someone had told me earlier: up to 80% of kids with ADHD have sleep problems. For autistic kids, it's 60-86%.

This isn't a discipline issue. It's biology.

Kids with ADHD often have delayed melatonin. Their sleep signal comes 45-90 minutes late. Autistic kids often produce less melatonin overall.

Their bodies are literally on a different clock.

We wrote a new blog post breaking down the research on why this happens, and what actually helps (morning light, sensory modifications, when melatonin makes sense, and why the "no screens" rule might need adjusting for your kid).

Read the blog here:

Up to 80% of kids with ADHD and autism have sleep problems—and it's not a discipline issue. Here's the biology behind it and what research says helps.

01/14/2026

The January slump is real, and it hits neurodivergent kids harder.

Here's why, and what actually helps (swipe through for the full breakdown).

A few notes, because we know "just go outside" isn't always simple:

Morning light exposure. Doesn't require a walk outside. A car ride to school works, breakfast by a window works.Getting outside, even for a few minutes, even on a cloudy day, is ideal. If that's not possible, breakfast by a sunny window or opening blinds helps, just not as much.

Indoor movement: "Go run on the treadmill" probably won't work for most kids. Try: a 3-song dance party, GoNoodle or Cosmic Kids on YouTube, an obstacle course with couch cushions, "the floor is lava," or even carrying laundry up and down stairs. For many kids, movement that has a point or is silly works better than exercise for exercise's sake.

Lowered expectations: This is more for you than them. January is not the month to introduce a new homework system or overhaul the morning routine. Keep them fed, rested, and at school. That's enough.

Short-term goals: Spring break is too far away to matter. Try: a countdown to Friday movie night, a small reward after the first week back, or a visual calendar where they can cross off days.

You got this.

01/12/2026

You bought the fidget. The putty. The wobble cushion. The noise-canceling headphones. Maybe a weighted lap pad.

And nothing's really working.

Here's something no one tells parents: a sensory tool can't fix a sensory-unsafe environment. It's not going to regulate a nervous system that's already overwhelmed.

One occupational therapist measured a classroom at 82 decibels. Sustained — not a spike, but the baseline. For reference, that's louder than a vacuum cleaner running continuously, and just 3 decibels under the threshold for sustained hearing damage.

No fidget spinner is going to overcome that.

Before we ask "what tool does this kid need," we have to ask a harder question: Is this environment safe enough for ANY tool to work?

Sometimes the kid isn't "not responding to interventions." Sometimes the environment is the problem.

The environment IS the intervention.

01/08/2026

Morning light in the barn. Because not every kid does their best thinking in an office or at a desk.

Visit www.summitranch.org to learn more about what we do.

01/07/2026

100 acres. Barns, trails, quiet rooms.

Not because it's pretty, because some kids can't access their own thoughts in a beige office.
They need space to move, room to breathe, and somewhere that doesn't feel like school.

That's what donor support makes possible.

See our work: summitranch.org

01/04/2026

Your kid was fine over break. Now they're melting down before the bus even arrives.

Here's what's happening: For the past two weeks, their nervous system got to relax. No alarms. No demands to switch tasks every 45 minutes. No sensory gauntlet of hallways and cafeterias.

Now they're being asked to jump back into a system that requires: sustained attention for hours, constant transitions, social navigation, and emotional regulation — all before their brain has fully woken up.

The meltdowns aren't defiance. They're a nervous system that got a taste of rest and is now being asked to perform again.

What helps: Lower expectations for the first week. Build in extra transition time. Expect the after-school crash to be worse than usual. And remember: this is temporary. Their system will recalibrate.

12/18/2025

"Summit Ranch has actually become a second home for my family."

That's what one parent told us. It's why we do this work.

This year-end, your gift helps more kids find calm, confidence, and connection on our 100-acre ranch. Every dollar goes directly to therapy scholarships, program supplies, and animal care.

Link in bio to give before December 31. www.summitranch.org/donate

12/17/2025

It's 6:45pm on Christmas Eve. Your kid seemed "fine" all day. But now they're in the car sobbing. Or screaming. Or completely shut down.

Here's what "fine" actually looked like from inside their head:

Lights too bright. TV too loud. Someone's perfume burning their nose. Sitting on a scratchy couch while everyone watched them open gifts. Making their face do the "grateful" thing. Smiling through "how's school" when their brain was screaming to talk about axolotls instead.
By the time they got to the car? Nothing left.

That meltdown isn't bad behavior. It's a nervous system that held on as long as it could.
New on the blog: why holidays are so hard for neurodivergent kids, and what's actually happening in their brain when they "fall apart."

Read the blog here: summitranch.org/blog/why-the-holidays-can-feel-so-hard-for-neurodivergent-kids-and-what-actually-helps