Support Needs Focus Bundle
Helping Vulnerable Children Thrive: An Attachment-Based Approach
A Collection of Transformative Insights from Neufeld Institute Conference 2022 featuring presentations by Neufeld Institute faculty and facilitators.
This bundle has 14 hours of on-demand recordings with lifetime access, and includes three bonus conference keynotes and End-of-Day Panel Discussions.
Some children face the world with heightened sensitivity, deep emotions, or unique challenges, and require individualized support. As parents, caregivers, and educators, we want to support them with patience and wisdom—but at times, we may feel unsure of how to help, especially when faced with anxiety, emotional defenses, or struggles with resilience.
Join us and approach these challenges with greater understanding, confidence, and connection.
The Support Needs Focus Bundle from Neufeld Institute Conference 2022 brings together six sessions designed to help you better understand and nurture children with extra sensitivities or those needing additional support. This carefully selected collection is filled with practical guidance rooted in developmental science and attachment-based practices, equipping you with the tools to foster resilience, reduce stress, and create a safe, supportive environment where every child can thrive.
Included Sessions in this bundle
Helping Children on the Autistic Spectrum “Bounce Back”
Our children on the spectrum have hypersensitive brains that are flooded with more input than their brains can manage. Jule Epp explores how, when these things happen, we begin to see behaviours in our autistic children that are very painful to watch: regressions in development, increased retreat from attachments, general emotional shut-downs or extreme elevations in agitation. She discusses why our children on the spectrum seem to fall into these places more quickly than others and how we can help them recover.
Softening the Defenses: Helping Children Face Vulnerability and Gain Resilience
A child’s heart must remain soft for healthy development. For a child who is very sensitive, the brain may erect defenses to protect them. Softening these defenses can be a daunting task. Colleen Drobot explores ways to restore emotional expression, lower frustration and anxiety, and nurture resilience—sharing real-life stories as a therapist, educator, and mother.
The Alarm Spectrum: Anxiety, Attention Problems and more
Anxiety, phobias, attention issues, and adrenaline-seeking behaviors all stem from the same root emotion—alarm. Deborah MacNamara explores how alarm-based challenges develop, why common interventions can sometimes worsen them, and how a developmental approach can offer a true path to healing.
Sowing Seeds of Resilience in a Sensitive Child
Sensitive children experience the world deeply, making them more vulnerable to stress and overwhelm. Lori Abramowitz explores how to nurture their emotional strength without pushing too hard or overprotecting, offering practical strategies to help them develop resilience while staying open to connection.
Rethink Play: Bouncing Back through Emotional Playgrounds
Play is a natural and powerful tool for emotional healing, yet it is often misunderstood and undervalued. Tamara Strijack & Hannah Beach explore how play helps process emotions, recover from stress, and foster connection—offering practical ways to create space for play in our homes, schools, and communities.
Caring for Children with Extra Support Needs
A child with extra support needs can open up new ways of looking at the world and uncover new depths within ourselves. The unique challenges our child brings often demand an alertness, a patience, and a persistence that can leave us frustrated and exhausted, feeling left alone by society or not understood. Jule Epp & Karen Bollman explore with compassion how we can tell if we have lost our “bounce” and what we need to do to get it back.
Who Is This For?
🌱 Parents, caregivers, and helping professionals who care for vulnerable children and wish to support their emotional health and well-being.
🌱 Educators who work with children requiring extra support in an educational setting.
Bonus Sessions in this bundle
As a special bonus, you’ll receive convenient access to the anchor keynote from Neufeld Institute Conference 2022, Bouncing Back: From Stress to Strength by Gordon Neufeld, along with two powerful keynotes not available to the public—Back to Nature Where We Belong and Back to Nurturing Through Food.
In addition to the three keynote presentations, your bundle includes exclusive access to the End-of-Day Panel Discussions with Gordon Neufeld, Deborah MacNamara, and Tamara Strijack. These engaging conversations offer deeper insights into each day’s keynote and provide answers to participant questions, making the learning experience even more enriching.
ANCHOR KEYNOTE
Bouncing Back: From Stress to Strength by Gordon Neufeld
Stress is unavoidable—for us and our children. Instead of battling it, we must understand its wisdom: how Nature works to protect us and what it needs from us in return. Dr. Neufeld shares insights from the science of emotion, revealing how stress can be transformed into strength. While focused on children, these principles apply to all ages, offering hope that resilience is within us all.
KEYNOTE
Back to Nature Where We Belong by Tamara Strijack
We once lived in harmony with nature, attuned to its rhythms and cycles. But along the way, we lost our connection. How do we find our way back? Science now confirms what intuitive cultures always knew—the natural world fosters learning, healing, and growth. What stands in our way, and how can we reclaim this connection? Join Tamara Strijack in exploring these questions as we journey back to nature together.
KEYNOTE
Back to Nurturing through Food by Deborah MacNamara
Does all food nurture? We’ve lost something essential in how we feed and gather. Beyond sit-down meals, what truly brings our loved ones to rest in our care? Dr. Deborah MacNamara explores the deeper connection between food and relationship, drawing from her book, Nourished.
