Raising kids is the most difficult thing I have ever done in my entire life. Sprinkle in neurodivergent kids, and I thought it was impossible. Through our struggles we knew we needed help, but had no idea where to turn. My wife suggested that we find a professional that could support our family’s challenges. I was extremely reluctant, as most people are. I couldn’t fathom not being able to keep everything in order in my own home, and then bringing in a stranger to judge us on our inability to parent right.

Boy was I wrong. I was very hesitant for a couple months, and couldn’t see the benefit of the process. I was hesitant to share, and felt that everything was a waste of time.

Kristi is amazing! Not only does she take the time to make the space feel safe and judgment free, she connects with you and meets you where you’re at. Not only did Kristi help us through some very hard times, she was on our team. She has multiple tools for the tool box and if one doesn’t work for a specific situation, the next one is on deck ready to go. I can honestly say that if we didn’t have Kristi on our team, coaching us through tough times and supporting us as parents, our family dynamic would look very different. 

Our time with Kristi started as an outlet to help our daughter learn ways to cope and thrive in a world that isn’t set up for people with brains that function in different ways from the “norm”. Parent sessions were a way to spot check progress and change or tweak our approach of handling new situations that would arise, that we were not prepared for. These sessions became my favorite part of the process. It was our time to be real and openly talk about our challenges, with someone who is there to truly support and teach ways of trying new ways to support a child that didn’t know what she needed, or how to function when situations were overwhelming. I had no idea that what Kristi brings to the table is hope and support. Support in the times when I felt like I was failing at every aspect of being a father and a husband. Hope when there were little breakthroughs that let us know that we were turning a corner, and my daughter was starting to be seen, heard, and that she had the ability to control how she shows up in the world.

As a father and a husband, I can say with 100% certainty that if it was not for Kristi, my relationship with my children and my wife would have a very different outlook. Kristi allowed us to show up differently for our kids and provide them unconditional support. I still hear Kristi’s words echoing in my mind every time I’m faced with a new challenge in this wild roller coaster ride of parenting. I will forever be grateful, and could never explain the impact Kristi truly had on our family. I am a better man everyday with the things that I was able to learn and practice with her help.

If you are like me, and are hesitant to talk about your struggles and challenges with a stranger. I would suggest you give it a shot. It was the best decision I have made to open up and trust the process. With Kristi in your corner, anything is possible. 

— Dad of 3 kiddos

My little girl has gone from screaming at me to go away and trying to kick me during her tantrums to often being able to state “I need some help to calm down” and letting me hold her or rub her back. She is able to articulate how her frustration feels in her body and is starting to recognize that it is her brain’s way of telling her there is a problem to be solved and not an emergency. When I explained the brain hand model to her and what was happening when she felt frustrated or hungry or had to pee she looked at me with her big eyes, her whole body relaxed and said “it’s my brain, it’s not me” and wrapped her arms around me and just held on. Overall, I have most importantly learned that when things are starting to go south, I need to take a breath and let go of my expectations and fears and just be with my kids emotionally because their behaviors are the way they are asking for help with things they can’t articulate. I have learned that the limits come later when everyone is regulated and can think.

— Mom of daughter with BiG feelings

My husband and I worked with Kristi during Covid. Our youngest was struggling terribly with anger and emotions through the roof. We thought we were coming to her to help him. Instead, she helped us increase our windows of tolerance and skills so that we could be our best selves showing up to help him be his best self. It took real work on our parts, but our sessions were enormously productive and transformative. He’s 16 now and it is extraordinary how much we enjoy him and are both proud of him and ourselves after several years of immense struggle. I highly recommend giving Kristi a try, she is stellar!

— Mom of 2 teenage boys

Kristi has taught us to "follow the why" to understand what is underneath our son's behavior and emotions. From there, she has given us practical, concrete ways to respond to challenges, helping us to become more adaptive -- and regulated -- parents, with benefits that extend far beyond our sessions. When we first contacted her we were in crisis. This fortunately feels like a long time ago! We feel lucky to have found her.

— Mom of 2 boys

As a mom supporting a family full of neuro-spicy humans, working with Kristi has been a rock during some of our hardest seasons. We originally came to her because one of our children needed support. My husband and I quickly realized that we needed support too.

Kristi helped us understand our own brains and how our own dysregulation was impacting our family. She gave us practical tools and a shared language that we use every day.

She walked alongside our family through school challenges, evaluations, diagnoses, and the everyday ups and downs of raising neurodivergent kids. Looking back now, I’m so grateful for the foundation she helped us build. Our oldest has grown tremendously, and while parenting is never easy, we have the confidence and tools to support all of our kids because of what we learned with Kristi. I truly don’t know where our family would be without her.

—Mom in a neuro-spicy family

“The last two nights I was helping my son with his math homework and I was able to stay regulated. That felt like a huge accomplishment! Especially because he wasn't. It was interesting though when I was able to stay calm, it brought him back down and he even apologized for getting an attitude. It was nice and very different."

— Mom of 7th grader