Liza Mordkovich

09/27/2026

The school day starts with the bus.

For children with disabilities, transportation can shape how they feel before they enter the classroom. Long rides, early pickups, loud noise and unpredictable routines can leave a child exhausted, overwhelmed or anxious. Arriving at school is only part of the picture. Arriving ready to learn matters, too.

What does your child’s IEP say about transportation?

Review the transportation section for travel-time limits, supervision, accessibility and individual supports. Ask how those accommodations will work on the assigned route and who to contact when concerns arise.

Look beyond the schedule:
• Is your child distressed before or after the ride?
• Are fatigue or sensory demands affecting participation?
• Is your child missing instruction because of transportation?
• Are the supports listed in the IEP being provided?

Keep a record of pickup times, arrival times and when your child actually leaves the bus. Include waiting aboard, missed class time and changes you notice in sleep, mood or behavior. Share specific concerns in writing and ask the school team to review the plan.

Our advocates help families review IEP transportation supports, organize concerns and communicate with schools and districts about their child’s needs.

You deserve to be heard. Your child’s comfort, safety and access to learning matter. Keep asking questions.

brooklynmindful.com

09/27/2026

DBT SKILL: OPPOSITE ACTION

Depression can make you want to stay home, cancel plans, and disconnect. Sadness may pull you toward withdrawing, even when isolation leaves you feeling worse.

Opposite Action, an emotion regulation skill from Dialectical Behavior Therapy (DBT), helps you choose a different response when an emotion does not fit the facts or acting on its urge is ineffective.

If depression tells you to stay home, try one small activity: take a short walk, meet a supportive friend, or attend a class. It may feel hard. You can begin before motivation arrives.

If sadness urges you to withdraw, try watching something funny or sharing a lighthearted moment with someone. Humor can also be a distress tolerance tool; the skill depends on what you are trying to change.

The goal is not to deny sadness or force happiness. It is to acknowledge your feelings while choosing actions that support connection and well-being.

Small steps count, even when your mood does not shift right away.

Pause and ask:
What am I feeling?
What is this emotion urging me to do?
Would following that urge help?
What small opposite action could I practice?

At Brooklyn Mindfulness and Psychotherapy, we help clients build coping skills through DBT, CBT, mindfulness, and evidence-based therapy for depression, anxiety, and emotional regulation.

Explore online therapy and mental health support today at brooklynmindful.com.

09/25/2026

CHECK THE FACTS: A DBT Skill for Navigating Big Emotions

When emotions feel intense, we may see a situation through the lens of fear, hurt, or anger. A delayed reply becomes “They don’t care.” A brief comment becomes “I did something wrong.”

Your feelings are real. The interpretation fueling them may need a closer look.

“Check the Facts” is a Dialectical Behavior Therapy (DBT) emotion regulation skill that invites us to separate what actually happened from the meaning we attach to it.

Try these steps:

🔎 Name the emotion.
What am I feeling, and how intense is it?

🔎 Describe what happened.
Stick to what you directly observed. “My friend hasn’t replied today” is an observation. “My friend is rejecting me” is an interpretation.

🔎 Notice your assumptions.
Am I guessing what someone thinks, predicting the worst, or treating a possibility as a certainty?

🔎 Consider other explanations.
Could they be busy, distracted, or unsure how to respond? You can consider alternatives while acknowledging that you don’t yet know.

🔎 Ask whether the emotion—and its intensity—fits the facts.
Does the available evidence support the threat, rejection, or loss I’m imagining?

Then choose your next step. When the facts reveal a real problem, you may need to communicate, set a boundary, or problem-solve. When assumptions are driving the intensity, a more balanced interpretation can help you respond thoughtfully.

Checking the facts leaves room for both self-validation and curiosity: “It makes sense that I feel hurt. What do I actually know?”

At Brooklyn Mindfulness and Psychotherapy, we help people practice skills for understanding emotions and responding with greater intention.

🌐 brooklynmindful.com

09/25/2026

Behavior is communication—and in schools, challenging behavior should be understood before it is punished.

A Functional Behavioral Assessment, or FBA, is a structured process used to identify why a behavior may be happening. The school may examine what occurs before the behavior, what the behavior looks like, what happens afterward, and whether the child is attempting to escape a difficult task, access something, communicate a need, gain connection or regulate overwhelming emotions or sensory experiences.

Once the purpose—or “function”—of the behavior is better understood, the school can develop a Behavior Intervention Plan, or BIP. An effective BIP should not simply list consequences. It should include proactive environmental supports, strategies for preventing predictable challenges, replacement skills to teach, positive reinforcement, clear staff responsibilities and a method for monitoring progress.

For example, if a student leaves the classroom when work feels overwhelming, punishment alone does not address the underlying problem. The student may need academic modifications, scheduled breaks, a way to request help, emotional-regulation support or instruction broken into manageable steps.

Advocacy can help families:

• Request an FBA when behavior is interfering with learning
• Ensure the assessment collects meaningful data across settings
• Ask whether the proposed BIP directly reflects the FBA’s findings
• Advocate for positive, skill-building interventions
• Clarify who will implement each support and how consistently
• Request data to determine whether the plan is actually helping
• Reconvene the IEP team when the plan is ineffective or the child’s needs change

Children should not be defined by their most difficult moments. When schools look beneath behavior with curiosity, compassion and good data, they can replace blame with meaningful support—and help students develop the skills they need to feel safe, participate and learn.

09/23/2026

09/18/2026

Executive functioning skills are the mental processes that help students plan, organize, manage time, begin tasks, remember instructions, regulate emotions, shift between activities, and follow through on responsibilities.

When a student struggles with executive functioning, it may look like procrastination, forgetfulness, incomplete assignments, difficulty following multi-step directions, emotional overwhelm, losing materials, poor time management, or trouble transitioning between tasks. These challenges are not necessarily signs that a student is lazy, unmotivated, or unwilling to learn. Often, the student needs clearer structure, targeted strategies, and appropriate support.

An educational advocate can help parents:

• Identify patterns affecting the student’s school performance
• Communicate concerns clearly to teachers and the school district
• Review evaluations, progress reports, IEPs, and 504 Plans
• Request appropriate accommodations, services, and measurable goals
• Prepare for school meetings and understand available options
• Encourage collaboration between families and school teams
• Ensure that the student’s individual needs remain central to the process

Helpful supports may include visual schedules, checklists, organizational systems, shortened directions, additional processing time, movement breaks, predictable routines, task breakdowns, and regular teacher check-ins.

The goal is not simply to tell a student to “try harder.” The goal is to understand what is getting in the way and provide tools that help the student become more confident, successful, and independent.

09/16/2026

What are related services in an IEP? 💜

Related services are specialized supports a student may need to access their education, participate in school, and benefit from special education instruction.

Depending on the student’s individual needs, related services may include:

• Speech and language therapy
• Occupational therapy
• Physical therapy
• Counseling or psychological services
• School social-work services
• School nursing or health services
• Parent counseling and training
• Audiology or hearing services
• Orientation and mobility services
• Assistive technology support
• Specialized transportation

Related services are not one-size-fits-all. They should be based on the student’s evaluations, educational needs, and IEP goals—not solely on a diagnosis.

The IEP should clearly identify:

• The specific service being provided
• How often it will be provided
• The length of each session
• Whether it will be individual or in a group
• Where the service will take place
• When the service will begin

Parents can ask: “What support does my child need to meaningfully participate, access instruction, and make educational progress?”

If a related service is necessary for your child to benefit from special education, it should be discussed by the IEP team and clearly documented in the IEP.

09/15/2026

Wise Mind is a core DBT concept that helps us find balance between what we feel and what we know.

Emotion Mind is guided primarily by feelings, urges, and immediate reactions. Reasonable Mind focuses on facts, logic, and practical details. Both provide valuable information—but relying entirely on either one can make it harder to see the full picture.

Wise Mind brings them together. It allows us to acknowledge our emotions without letting them control every decision, while also using logic without dismissing what our feelings are trying to communicate.

When you feel overwhelmed or uncertain, pause and ask yourself:

What am I feeling right now?

What are the facts of the situation?

What choice honors both my emotions and my long-term well-being?

Wise Mind does not always provide an immediate or perfect answer. Sometimes it arrives as a quiet sense of clarity after we slow down, breathe, and give ourselves space to listen inward.

Feel it. Think it through. Choose wisely.

09/14/2026

When emotions feel overwhelming, the goal is not always to solve everything immediately. Sometimes, the first step is simply getting through the moment without making the situation worse.

DBT distress tolerance skills can help you manage intense emotions, reduce impulsive reactions, and create enough space to choose what to do next.

STOP
Stop. Take a step back. Observe what is happening inside and around you. Then proceed mindfully instead of reacting automatically.

TIPP
Use temperature, intense exercise, paced breathing, and paired muscle relaxation to help calm your body’s stress response.

ACCEPTS
Temporarily redirect your attention through activities, contributing, comparisons, different emotions, pushing the situation away, shifting your thoughts, or using strong physical sensations.

SELF-SOOTHE
Comfort yourself through your five senses: sight, sound, smell, taste, and touch.

IMPROVE
Make a painful moment more manageable through imagery, meaning, prayer, relaxation, focusing on one thing at a time, taking a brief mental vacation, or offering yourself encouragement.

Distress tolerance does not mean ignoring your feelings or accepting harmful circumstances. It means helping yourself survive an emotional crisis safely so you can respond with greater clarity when the intensity comes down.

You do not have to feel calm before you begin. Choose one skill, practice it, and take the moment one step at a time.

09/13/2026

Back-to-school transitions can feel exciting—and overwhelming—especially when your child has an IEP, 504 Plan, learning difference, disability, anxiety, or other support needs.

An educational advocate can help your family begin the school year with greater clarity, preparation, and confidence.

1️⃣ Review the IEP or 504 Plan
An advocate can review your child’s current accommodations, services, goals, and placement to determine whether they still reflect your child’s needs. They can also help identify areas that may need clarification or revision.

2️⃣ Strengthen communication with the school team
Advocates can help parents prepare questions, organize concerns, understand school terminology, and communicate more effectively with teachers and service providers. Clear communication early in the year can prevent misunderstandings later.

3️⃣ Support your child’s self-advocacy
Children benefit from gradually learning how to recognize what helps them and express what they need. An advocate can help families find developmentally appropriate ways to include the child’s voice in planning and decision-making.

You do not have to navigate the back-to-school process alone. The right support can help your child feel understood, prepared, and empowered throughout the school year.