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Any tips for how to loosen up and relax around 9yo (possibly neurodiverse) DD?

19 replies

DustyGlow · 05/03/2026 14:31

DD is 9. I believe there is some neurodiversity there. She’s diagnosed dyslexic but I think perhaps ADHD or autism. She is on a waiting list for assessment but keeps being delayed.
I find myself hating myself at the end of every day as I just feel at odds with her. Like we’re so different. She’s the child and I need to and do try to rise above it all and be the mum she needs but I find it so difficult.
Things include constant movement, constant delaying tactics, very forgetful. I’ve got a digital visual checklist to try help with routines (with points awarded for rewards) but again, I got annoyed as she would stop fiddling, touching, trying to see what each button does!

She’s such a good kid and not naughty but I find her so overstimulating. We try do nice things but I think I’m burnt out and can’t loosen up enough to enjoy them. I already dreading school pick up and feel bad about it.

Please be kind but any tips on how to improve myself rather than change her would be appreciated.

OP posts:
DustyGlow · 05/03/2026 15:53

Perhaps it’s just me ….
A hopeful bump

OP posts:
saltandlineker · 05/03/2026 16:02

i have a child like this and we really struggle. She’s always on the go and climbing on me or being overly emotional. She needs to be constantly moving so we’ve bought her a peanut shaped yoga ball and she rolls around on it getting out the energy. It’s hers and no body else is allowed to touch it and it really helps regulate her. She’s younger than yours but also suspected adhd and her brother is autistic. Points only last for a bit and then the novelty wears off we’ve found she just needs lots of sensory input but I agree it’s exhausting.

AlcoholicAntibiotic · 05/03/2026 16:03

If she’s diagnosed dyslexic then she is neurodivergent, so I’m not sure why you say “possibly” neurodiverse.

In terms of what you can do, is it more that you need time away from her to decompress if she’s quite full on? Could you start some sort of after school “quiet” routine where you both do your own thing for an hour or so in the evening? Could be TV / screen / audiobook / craft time for her - she is old enough at 9 to keep herself occupied. Or if she has too much energy could you redirect it to household chores so she’s helping you?

Interested in this thread?

Then you might like threads about these subjects:

Boughy · 05/03/2026 16:06

I would suggest reading up on anxiety. Maybe a CBT course. My knowledge is more aimed at children but they are taught how anxiety is your brain trying to keep you safe, it creates a cycle of negative thoughts, feelings and physical sensations that are uncomfortable for you and you end up in a vicious spiral. There are various ideas for how to separate yourself and break out of the cycle. Often you use some level of acceptance "ok brain, I see what you"re telling me, got it" and a tolerance for sitting with the uncomfortable feeling then helping yourself move past it.

I know you are not presenting it as an anxiety issue but one of the difficulties with parenting kids with additional needs is our nervous systems end up on overactive high alert just like those of an anxious person. The origin of the sensation might be different but the technique can still help. Also lots of giving yourself breaks - build in a routine of breaks wherever you can eg sit down with a cuppa as soon as she is in bed, try to have a night off occasionally if possible. You can't help her regulate until you are regulated yourself so it's important.

Also I know you said just stuff for you, but an OT for her might be able to help a lot. It sounds like your daughter could really benefit - not just become less annoying, but personally benefit - from finding some ways to become better regulated. They might be able to help you too.

Mariocatgran · 05/03/2026 16:12

@DustyGlowwe have a yoga ball aswell or he runs up and down nothing else works hes 7

DustyGlow · 05/03/2026 16:57

I’ll look into getting a yoga ball. We have lots of sensory things, spinning chair, wobble cushions etc but no yoga ball (I have visions of her throwing it around). I have 2 sensory seeking kids so they would fight over it. Perhaps I’d need 2!

This might all be coming as we’re at the end of a long wet winter. Now it’s coming to spring there can be more tree climbing etc and that might help. She’s also struggling to sleep recently too so feels like I’m always waiting for the ‘muuummmmyyyy’ and repeated trips downstairs.

I’ve looked at doing that deep breathing vagus nerve reset thing before for myself but that’s reminded me. I’m not an anxious person but yes, some of the tips might help.

OP posts:
RubyFatball · 05/03/2026 17:00

Have you posted about her before, finding her a lot?

I can’t imagine a single 9 year old who wouldn’t want to investigate a new digital “thing” and see what all the buttons would do. What was stopping you letting her explore?

Mariocatgran · 05/03/2026 18:14

@DustyGlow my GS opens anything with wires and speakers so we get old toys from 2nd hand shops for him to explore he stays quiet for a while doing it

vincettenoir · 05/03/2026 18:27

My dd can’t keep still and really struggles with transitions too. I find myself being quite impatient in the mornings sometimes. I shout and then I feel guilty knowing I should have handled things better.

I always apologise afterwards when I know I haven’t handled something well. In Phillipa Perry’s book (The Book You Wish Your Parents Had Read) she talks a lot about rupture and repair and it’s really helpful. I totally recommend.

You’re a human and there are times when you will be tired and won’t have the resilience to handle things perfectly. Don’t beat yourself up about it but do acknowledge when you’ve got it wrong. This is great modelling for your dd.

Good luck. It’s hard and you’re not alone in making mistakes. But at least you have self awareness. That counts for a lot.

Needlenardlenoo · 05/03/2026 18:37

I found Jeffrey Bernstein's book 10 Days to a Less Defiant Child really helpful with this - lots of practical tips.

BertieBotts · 05/03/2026 19:03

Just marking place to return later. I recognise this feeling and you're not alone x

BertieBotts · 06/03/2026 11:01

OK I am back.

This could have described me with DS1 who is now a teenager. DS2 is also similar and by the time he was showing these behaviours (he is 10 years younger) I was much better at managing my response and it helped a lot. I felt guilty for years about DS1 because I feel that my difficulty in managing him when he was younger really impacted our relationship. They both have ADHD (and so do I). My relationship with DS1 did improve once he got a bit older (11+)

The first thing is that you need breaks. Do you have a partner and if not, do you have family help at all? I try to get away for a couple of nights about once a year. I realise this will not be financially viable for everyone but if you can possibly make this work, however you make it work - staying with a friend to reduce costs etc - it helps enormously.

Also having regular time during the week which is just for me. I go to a choir now one evening a week, which helps a lot. Some weekends, DH will take the DC out without me. He also handles all the mornings, which is brilliant because routine tasks can be really difficult with ADHD.

The second big gamechanger is understanding regulation/the nervous system and the physiological response which is happening. There are various models and different terms used to explain this because the proper terms are quite scientific, but they all describe 2-4 different "states" which is basically:

Regulated - Calm/positive/neutral, alert, ready to learn, sensible, their "best self" basically, also on the parent side, when you're being reasonable and using parenting tools as you want to use them. Note that this can also include feelings which are not totally calm and perfect, but when a person is well-regulated, they are still able to engage with and relate to others even if they are feeling a difficult emotion.

Dysregulated - Silly, hyper, manic, overexcited, out of control, impulsive or wild, angry, aggressive, defiant, unreasonable, inconsolable, on the parent side, this is the state you get into when you find yourself shouting, ignoring things out of utter dread, or doing/saying other things you know you shouldn't, or your own parents' words coming out of your mouth. When a child is dysregulated, discipline often won't work, but it's more than just a bad mood or momentary upset. You'll know, IME, if your child experiences dysregulation rather than going through normal emotion changes throughout a day.

Some of the models break dysregulation into two or more "stages" so you'll have a lesser state of dysregulation which might be more signs of impending dysregulation or might be more verbal, vs a more extreme state of dysregulation where the child is well into the fight or flight response and might be physically aggressive, a danger to themselves or completely unreachable.

Some models also include a separate name for the "freeze/fawn" or shutdown type response.

The models or authors I know which use this framework are Conscious Discipline (executive/emotional/survival states), Robyn Gobbel (owl/watchdog/opossum brain), Mona Delahooke (green/red/blue pathway), Dan Siegel (upstairs/downstairs brain), Stuart Shanker (regulated/dysregulated). There may be more.

Zones of regulation touches on it, but I think the explanation is less clear. Ross Greene never mentions it explicitly, but his framework uses it - The Explosive Child really refers to a dysregulated child. His theory of dysregulated/explosive behaviour being "late" is helpful, ie the actual problem happens earlier in a chain of events.

Because regulation derives from a survival function, both humans and animals are sensitive to the nonverbal cues of others around them and we can influence each other in this way, so a calm/regulated person or animal can be a regulating influence on a dysregulated person, but dysregulation can also increase dysregulation in others (like horses "smelling fear") - co-regulation (where a child is calmed by an adult's calm and steady presence or comfort) is a natural, usually instinctive function and thought to be how humans learn to self-regulate. Babies are thought to be completely dependent on co-regulation, and children continue to rely on it for a good portion of their regulation needs. Adults also get co-regulation from each other (a hug, a vent to a friend).

What I noticed from my own experience is if your child is dysregulated for a large portion of the day, you will often become attuned to the signs that they are in a lower state of dysregulation and this will instantly bring about a stress response in you because you are anticipating that they are soon going to enter that dysregulated state where it's like they are "manic" and you can't do anything to manage their behaviour, even if they are being destructive or aggressive. You're then primed to jump on them for any bit of misbehaviour or you just want to run away and leave them to it, neither of which will actually help because what they need in that pre-dysregulated state is usually to co-regulate with a safe, trusted adult (which is probably you) OR sometimes it's a sign that they have some kind of body need which they are unaware of (ND children often have poor interoception, which is awareness of their internal sensations - e.g. hunger, toilet need, temperature). They may also be able to regulate themselves using sensory means, which is sometimes what they are unconsciously trying to do by being very hyper and loud or fidgety. However - IME - my children are never especially receptive to my suggestions when they have entered this pre-dysregulated state. And it's difficult for you to co-regulate with them if you are becoming dysregulated from proximity to their dysregulation.

So - you have to really do several things and it isn't possible to master them all at once so don't stress about this. It's a process and IME the more you can adopt any part of it, the easier things will become.

It helps to learn to recognise the different states of regulation/dysregulation, both in yourself and your child. Mona Delahooke and Robin Gobbel are both very good about how to see this.

It helps to have a plan for yourself to follow when you are in a dysregulated state. When you're dysregulated, it's almost impossible to remember anything complicated, so you need an extremely easy to follow framework. You can mimic the body language of someone who is regulated, which will often help to regulate you. Conscious Discipline is fantastic for this. It's also fine simply to leave the room. Robin Gobbel has some tips you can bookmark and look up privately. The other thing which can work really well is the 123 Magic/Supernanny type approach where you stop talking about the issue and follow an extremely formulaic disciplinary response. This only works if you can 100% commit to the calm, low voice and carry out the punishment with no discussion. It also has to be a consequence which isn't scary, and is temporary. The important thing is that you have something calm to replace your automatic response with. Knowing what to do in the situation can help you get back to feeling regulated, but it also just helps stop the cycle where you're both escalating each other. Understand BTW that none of this will actually help solve the behaviour, even if you are using consequences. You have to teach or practice the expected behaviour in order to strengthen that, but you can't do that when your child is dysregulated. You have to do it when they are regulated. If your child is dysregulated a lot of the time, you might need to triage and only look to solve some of the problems first (Ross Greene can be good for this). When you're trying to teach, practice or encourage a replacement, it's important to break this into teeny tiny steps and include a lot of praise/reinforcement/reward however that looks for your child. If it's not working, reduce the size of the step or consider a sidestep (Again, Ross Greene!) or seek professional support.

Figuring out what might help to regulate either yourself or your child can be good. You might be able to use this in the moment when you're both dysregulated or you might be able to use it proactively to try to "clear" some accumulated stress from the day. (I don't know if this is accurate but as a metaphor it seems to work). Whether it's that they need physical exercise or you can work in some kind of connection ritual to your day or whatever it is. I found that when connection with your child is hard because you never know what kind of state they will be in, doing it with a time limit is really helpful. So play something like Uno which has a defined end to a round and you can say OK, 2 more rounds. Or set a timer and play for 20 mins, or 1 hour, or whatever is the limit that you know you can cope with without getting frustrated with them. Also, meeting them on something they like can help e.g. playing a computer game with them. There is a book called "15 Minute Parenting" which can be good for ideas.

I understand if you are using sensory strategies in this way, it probably needs a LOT of time spent on it ie several hours, which might be why sensory strategies often seem not to help. I don't have good resources for this, maybe Stuart Shanker, the main thing though is it's just trial and error, although it seems there are three common threads for children which usually help, which are: Autonomy, Connection and Exercise (ACE). This proactive regulation is why you as the adult need breaks from being your child's nervous system support. It's incredibly draining. (For adults you probably need connection with another adult, physical exertion, and/or just space from your child).

Figuring out what your child is struggling with, what they find dysregulating, can often be helpful too (and possibly also yourself!) Any way that these things can be reduced or removed from their environment may help. Stuart Shanker is good for this, and Ross Greene again. Declarative Language and other PDA approaches might be helpful. Environmental supports like your visual board can be helpful. ADHD medication, extremely helpful (IME). Possibly a mood stabiliser for you. Sensory supports like ear plugs/defenders, wobble stool, pressure/weighted vest, piece of paper to cover up the rest of their worksheet, or something bigger such as a different classroom, developing a trusting relationship with a staff member at school. Possibly less screen time. Possibly less "behaviourism" (reward and punishment type discipline). Possibly lowered academic expectations.

I know this is a lot so I apologise for the brain dump! It's accumulated stuff I've learnt over ~14 years or so.

This is also helpful. It's a presentation ~1hr long which covers many of these themes and has some useful ideas, mainly in the vein of sensory, connection and space.

- YouTube

Enjoy the videos and music that you love, upload original content and share it all with friends, family and the world on YouTube.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-z3X1FK-GZ0

BertieBotts · 06/03/2026 11:08

For stuff like her fiddling with the new tool - I would also get wound up by things like this and I've noticed this is part of me feeling slightly dysregulated or on edge for their dysregulated behaviour so I go automatically controlling to try to compensate. Noticing this as a pattern is useful, because when I was just getting wound up by it, it would escalate into an argument between us and often spoil the thing we were trying to do. Usually, it doesn't actually matter so I could step away and let them play around with it and then set it up myself later.

Boughy · 06/03/2026 13:16

@BertieBotts what a fantastic, expert post.

DustyGlow · 06/03/2026 16:49

@BertieBottsthank you so much for taking the time to write that. Your post seems to have really got to the root of what I’m feeling.

Yes! You’re definitely right about dysregulation feeding dysregulation. That’s something I haven’t really considered but definitely true. All the fidgeting makes me tense up until I can’t be a good parent.

My son has regulation issues but I find him easier to deal with day to day but meltdowns were very difficult for me. I’ve learned that the best thing is to read a script, keeping all emotion out of it. Basically repeating back to him what he’s saying and telling him his brain needs help calming down. The script definitely has saved me and I guess that’s a tool.

My daughter I find harder because objectively she’s not doing anything which overly needs my input. Just being very physical and fidgety. But you’re right, it stems from dysregulation / an unmet sensory need.

I have the explosive child on a shelf somewhere from a few years ago so will dig that out. And I will take the time to look at the other resources you’ve given.

Right, time to parent post school chaotic children!

OP posts:
BertieBotts · 06/03/2026 23:40

The Explosive Child is not the fastest. It will help reduce dysregulation across the board but it's a slow burn type approach and possibly more of a reframe than anything else. But probably always useful to reread, I think. I always pick up new things when I reread it.

The things which will help immediately IME is the Conscious Discipline (they have videos on youtube or look for podcasts with the founder) or the Robyn Gobbel (she has a podcast but I can't stand the way she talks) and possibly the Mona Delahooke - she is doing a lot of promo now for the rerelease of one of her books.

And the talk I linked at the end of the long post. I know it's long but it is worth it and it would also work as audio if you wanted to play it while doing something else.

TheChicSnail · 06/03/2026 23:58

Boughy · 05/03/2026 16:06

I would suggest reading up on anxiety. Maybe a CBT course. My knowledge is more aimed at children but they are taught how anxiety is your brain trying to keep you safe, it creates a cycle of negative thoughts, feelings and physical sensations that are uncomfortable for you and you end up in a vicious spiral. There are various ideas for how to separate yourself and break out of the cycle. Often you use some level of acceptance "ok brain, I see what you"re telling me, got it" and a tolerance for sitting with the uncomfortable feeling then helping yourself move past it.

I know you are not presenting it as an anxiety issue but one of the difficulties with parenting kids with additional needs is our nervous systems end up on overactive high alert just like those of an anxious person. The origin of the sensation might be different but the technique can still help. Also lots of giving yourself breaks - build in a routine of breaks wherever you can eg sit down with a cuppa as soon as she is in bed, try to have a night off occasionally if possible. You can't help her regulate until you are regulated yourself so it's important.

Also I know you said just stuff for you, but an OT for her might be able to help a lot. It sounds like your daughter could really benefit - not just become less annoying, but personally benefit - from finding some ways to become better regulated. They might be able to help you too.

This is such great advice and has helped me pin point why I feel on edge around my own ND DD. It does feel like you always have to be on high alert.

TremendousThirst · 07/03/2026 01:54

So much great advice here. I can only add that, counterintuitively, being more present with my child helps me to stay away from that zone of dysregulation. If I’m distracting myself with my phone, frantically trying to get chores done or working myself up in my mind about stressful things, I’m much more likely to snap at the first annoying behaviour. When I see this happening and threatening to ruin the evening, it helps to set a goal of just being attentive for 15 mins (or until we get out the door to the car, or whatever) just to the children to try and get back on track and back to a calm demeanour.

BertieBotts · 07/03/2026 10:37

YY, TT! Mona Delahooke refers to this as "making a deposit" and thinking of our relationship/connection with our children as being similar to a budget or bank balance - if we make enough deposits (positive connection) that can cover when we need to make a withdrawal (telling them off or setting a boundary, asking something of them, saying no to a request, taking space when they want our attention).

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