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I'm Brenda McDonald, OT and I support teachers in expanding their bandwidth so they can support their neurodiverse students thrive without the burnout.

09/17/2026

Of course you are human, you have emotions!

We spend all day telling students to manage THEIR emotions…shouldn’t they acknowledge our feelings too?

Being overly emotional and focusing too much on your own feelings can backfire, here are some reasons why ⬇️

1 - Regulation- if you are speaking to students in a calm manner then that helps signal their brain to calm. If you look dysregulated that can trigger other students.

2 Safety - keeping a measured, neutral manner and tone can help convey safety. Students will feel secure that you are in charge and will take care of them.

For example the teacher that says, “well it’s about time you showed up, I’m so tired of waiting on you!” The student may feel shamed and internalize those comments that they are a bad kid.

Instead, the teacher could try not saying anything in the moment, but make a mental note to speak to the student a another time and come up with a plan to help him get in line with the others on time.

3. Developmental needs - Students can barely manage their own feelings, and are definitely not ready to handle ours.

It’s easy to make it about us, but our job is to support the students. 🧠Their nervous systems and brains are still developing.

So what can we say instead?

For example- If a student is making too much noise, instead of saying “That noise is really annoying, I’m sick of hearing it, can you quiet down?”

Instead try calmly saying to them “That noise you are making makes it hard for me to hear the other students -
please do that somewhere else or listen to some music with headphones.”

This explains to them why their behavior might be an issue - but respecting both your nervous system needs in that moment.

Again, we are all humans, if you do make a comment that you regret, have a discussion with the students.

If you want to gain confidence and a calmer classroom - join my free webinar⬇️
The Regulated Classroom Blueprint - to learn how to create a classroom that supports regulation and participation in your neurodivergent students.

Comment BLUEPRINT below and I will DM you!
OR click on the link in my bio and select which date you w

09/15/2026

The beginning of the school year is a LOT!

Students and teachers are all trying to remember new routines, new classroom, new materials while getting to know each other and developing relationships.

And there is some teaching and learning going on as well!

If you notice that your students, particularly your neurodivergent students, are having a hard time pulling out the right folder, slow to initiate tasks, or feeling particularly anxious - then using visuals can be really helpful.

Why?
- it will reinforce the verbal directions - the cognitive load is really high and students who have difficulty with transitions and auditory processing may benefit from the additional visual prompts

- if students are anxious they may not actually hear what you are saying very well as that part of the brain may not be fully engaged

- reviewing the daily or morning schedule with visuals helps slow down the pace of the classroom and helps everyone start the day with a plan

This is just one way to adapt your environment and set up your neurodivergent students and the whole class for success - do you want learn more?

I have a new program coming up called The Neurodivergent Friendly Classroom Workshop and I would love to tell you more about it!

Book in a call to see if it is for you! Click on the Calendly link in my bio OR comment CHAT down below and I will DM you!

09/10/2026

I totally get it - when a student struggles to start an assignment, stay engaged, transition, regulate, or participate, the instinct is often:

➡️ “What can I do differently for this student?”

So you create another visual.
Another behavior chart.
Another set of choices.

And before you know it, you’re managing 5 different systems for 5 different students…while trying to teach everyone else.

But what if the better question is:

“What can I change about the classroom environment or instruction that would make this easier for more students?”

Because many supports that benefit neurodivergent students are actually good teaching practices for everyone.

That’s not creating more work.

It’s designing your classroom so you don’t have to keep creating individual solutions after students are already struggling.

The goal isn’t to make every student fit the system.

It’s to create a system that supports more students from the start.

💬 Comment “SUPPORT” if you want to learn how to make your classroom more supportive for neurodivergent students—without adding a million more things to your plate.

09/09/2026

Some students with ADHD do really well with something called body doubling.

In the classroom, this may look like the student sitting next to the teacher who assists in time management and accountability. They create an agreed time for checkin and review what will be completed during that time.

The teacher is also working on their tasks, but is modeling productivity for the student at the same time.

The student may not need the teacher to be next to them the whole time but may need frequent checkins and reminders about the agreed output.

As adults we use this, for example, when we work at a coffee shop or a public library to work. Adults with or without ADHD participate in body doubling - it’s something I found helpful when I had a hard time getting started working on Brain Spark in the evening.

There is no evidence about efficacy, but it is an approach worth trying to see if it works for your student.

I’ve included the references below if you want to read up more on body doubling.

https://dl.acm.org/doi/full/10.1145/3689648

This article called, “It Was Something I Naturally Found Worked and Heard About Later”: An Investigation of Body Doubling with Neurodivergent Participants” by Eagle et al, 2024) provides a nice discussion about how body doubling has evolved for neurodivergent adults.

And here is another article by Diane Solomon in Psychology Today:
https://www.psychologytoday.com/us/blog/the-narrative-nurse-practitioner/202501/body-doubling-its-not-just-for-adhd

Follow for more ways to support your neurodivergent students!

09/08/2026

The teacher’s lounge and the copy machine is where teachers and I often have more time to discuss their questions about their students than in the classroom.

Sign up through the link in the bio to ask your questions, learn more about your student’s needs, and feel more confident in implementing strategies.

Or comment LOUNGE below amd I will send you the link!

09/08/2026

In the teacher’s lounge and by the copy machine is when I often get a chance to speak to teachers.

They can ask me questions we may not get a chance to discuss or don’t want to discuss in the classroom with students around.

This newsletter will discuss YOUR questions around your neurodivergent students or those on IEPs.

It will come into your inbox a couple times per month and have information to deepen your understanding of your students needs and what you can do to support them so you feel more confident in what you are doing in the classroom.

Sign up at the link in the bio or comment LOUNGE and I will send you the link!

Avoiding these points below will help you have a more regulated and calmer classroom ⬇️🔕 Noise - This has to be the nu...
09/03/2026

Avoiding these points below will help you have a more regulated and calmer classroom ⬇️

🔕 Noise - This has to be the number one dysregulator as it exhausts both the teacher and the students. Look at strategies to reduce noise and regularly check the volume of the class.

🖼️ Hanging decorations from the ceiling and overloading the walls with papers and pictures makes it hard for everyone to see the whole class and focus on what IS important, like you.

🖊️ Names on the board - If a student is acting up and you put their name on the board or a sad face next to their name for the whole class to see - that shame may dysregulate them even more and you will have to deal with more behaviors.

The student may also internalize that they are a “bad” student which can have really negative and serious effect on their self-esteem and mental health.

👀 Desks in groups or clusters - this means students are faced away from the board and are looking at each other, which means their attention is more on their peers than you the teacher.

📋 Telling students “You better do this now because next year the teachers aren’t going to give you time to do that”, or “You need to know how to do this in the 6th grade (to a 4th grader)”

Statements like these at the beginning of the year can cause unneeded stress or anxiety for students who are just learning how their current grade and class work.

Let me know below if you gave any of these a try and share how it went!

09/01/2026

We often think of support as something we have to add for a particular student.

➡️A visual schedule for one student.
➡️A movement break for another.
➡️Different instructions for someone else

And suddenly, you feel like you are managing a dozen different needs at once.

But what if you reframed the situation?

Instead of:

“What does this student need that is different?”

Consider:

“What could I build into my classroom that would make learning more accessible for everyone?”

Think about:

Clear, consistent routines
Creating a calm environment
Visuals to reinforce verbal instructions
Opportunities for movement
Breaking complex tasks into manageable steps
Supporting transitions into tasks
These supports aren’t just helpful for neurodivergent students.

They can make the classroom more predictable, accessible, and easier to navigate for all learners.

And here’s the part teachers don’t hear often enough:

You don’t necessarily need MORE strategies.

You may need to look at your existing classroom systems differently.

When you design for a wider range of learners from the beginning, you can spend less time constantly reacting and creating individual fixes.

💬 Want to learn how to make your classroom more supportive without adding more to your already-full plate?

Comment “EVERYONE” to learn how you can create supports that work for all your students.

08/28/2026

So this school year is really picking up and looking to be pretty intense, much like the heat these days, which is making me think wistfully of summer vacation.

We are big fans of food and travel and love the show Somebody Feed Phil (Phil Rosenthal) If you aren’t familiar with it and want more happiness and joy in your life then I highly recommend you check it out.

My son, who was visiting from Italy for a month, my daughter and I decided to drive up and check out the diner, Max and Helen’s, which Phil Rosenthal created in honor of his parents with the chef Nancy Silverton.

While we waited, we checked out the Larchmont neighborhood shops, and it was great to spend time just chilling out with my kids.

We thought how lucky we are to get seated inside (it was so hot out)! Then after sitting down, we realized we had more luck as we saw Phil, his wife and some friends sitting by the front of the restaurant.

Once we realized they were there, I had to spend the meal trying to be cool - the eggplant parmesan was very tasty and service was excellent!! Max & Helen’s

I was totally planning on leaving without saying hi, but Phil smiled at my son, so we had a quick chat and did a selfie - it was so fun!!! 🤩 A great way to end the day with my kids.

I would love to hear your favorite summer adventure below! ⬇️

08/17/2026

We’re 4 days in and working to stay on top of my self-care. 💪

We saw the sea lion taking a dip and lots of sting rays - a great morning out on the water ☀️

School has started but summer is still happening!

How will you be restoring your energy in the weekends?

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